Tfl 681 
.P72 
Copy 1 



3NCSETD J'm 




Universal Portland Cement 



This Booi\ is given to you by the 

Universal Portland Cement Co. 



/T contains a great deal of valuable inrormation 
about improving farm property. The pictures 
in it show some good examples of cement work and 
ought to suggest to you many ways in which you 
can use concrete on your place. 

The primed instructions should be read very 
carefully and the directions should be closely fol- 
lowed. We know you want to be up-to-date, to 
have your farm well improved and are seeking 
for information which will enable you to do so. 
Read this book, get some cement, sand and gravel 
and build something of concrete. We know that 
you will not be sorry for the experiment. 



Universal Portland Cement Co. 

Chicago Pittsburg Minneapolis 

I I ~) Adams Street Frick Building Security Bank Building 



CONCRETE in 

v 

the COUNTRY 



Price, 25 cents 



Y<rCU(U^>A (LZ^vU^A OL^^OX^oJi- JCcxOc^quC 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PORTLAND 
CEMENT MANUFACTURERS 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

Copyrighted, 1910, by Association of American Portland 
Cement Manufacturers 



INDEX 






Special Index to Directions PAGE 

Bank-run gravel 13 

Cleaning forms . . . : 24 

Definition of concrete 9 

Dry mixture 13 

Forms 22-24 

Gravel 10, 13 

Hand-mixing 1 7-2 1 

Materials 9, 10 

Measuring boxes 12 

Measuring materials 1 1-13 

Medium mixture 13 

Mixing 1 5-22 

Natural mixture , 13, 20 

Placing 25, 26 

Portland cement 9 

Proportions . . . ." 1 1-13 

Protection of concrete after placing 26 

Publications issued by the Association 8 

Quantities of materials 21,22 

Reinforcement 26, 27 

Runs 15 

Sand as an aggregate 9 

Selecting lumber for forms 23 

Stone as an aggregate 10 

Tools 15 

Wet mixture ' 13 

General. Index 

Acetylene gas house '.'. 83-87 

Alleyways 41 

Barns 62 

Barn approach 60 

Barn floors 54~59 

Barn foundations 61 , 62 

Barnyard pavements 47, 48 

Base for machinery 87-89 

Bee cellars 92, 93 

Carriage house entrance 39 

Carriage washing floor 42 



2 

• / (7\X) J 



PAGE 

Cellar steps and hatchway 90, 91 

Chimney 5°> 5 1 

Chimney caps 97 

Cistern covers 69 

Cisterns 68-70, 72-73 

Coal house 83-87 

Cold frame 99, 100 

Concrete in the country, 5-8 

Corn crib floor 53 

Corner stones 105 

Cow barn floors 55—58 

Culverts 108, 109 

Cyclone cellar . 92-93 

Dairy 83-87 

Dipping vats and tanks 76-80 

Dog kennel 83-87 

Drain tile outlet 106 

Drinking troughs and tanks 74, 75 

Driveway of concrete 40, 41 

Drop gutters 54~59 

Duck pond 95 

Engine base foundation 87, 88 

Engine house 82-89 

Entrance floor 39 

Farm buildings 82-89 

Feed cooker 50, 51 

Feeding floors 43~45 

Feeding troughs, racks and mangers 49, 50 

Fence posts 104 

Field rollers , 102 

Field spring improvement 70, 71 

Floors 39,42,45,47,48,53-56,58,79,82,83,87,98 

Foundation gutter 35 

Fruit cellars 92, 93 

Garbage receiver 103 

Gasoline engine base 87, 88 

Gate posts 104 , 105 

Granary floors 53 

Gutters 35 

Hatchway for cellar steps 90, 91 

Hay cap weights 103 

Hen house 94 

Hens' nests 94 

Hitching post 104 

Hog wallows 52 

Horse barn floors 58, 59 

Hot bed. . 99, 100 

Housing for driven well 67, 68 

Hydraulic ram house 89 



PAGE 

Ice house 83-87 

Lawn roller 102 

Mangers 49, 50, 57, 59 

Manure pits and cisterns 45 

.Milk house 83-87 

Milk vat 81,82 

Nests for hens 94 

Old buildings and their repair 36-38 

Porch floor 98, 99 

Posts for fences and gates 104 

Posts, hitching • • • • 104 

Poultry house 94 

Ram house 89 

Repairs to farm buildings 36-38 

Retaining wall and steps 96, 97 

Roadways 40, 41 

Root cellar 92, 93 

Rollers 102 

Sanitary water supply 67-75 

Septic tanks no, 1 1 1 

Sidewalks 28-34 

Silos 65, 66 

Small farm buildings 82-89 

Smoke house 83-87 

Snow fences 63, 64 

Spraying tanks 107 

Spring improvements 70, 71 

Steps 90, 91, 96, 97 

Stones, corner 105 

Survey monuments 105 

Swimming pool 112 

Tanks 74, 75 

Tarpaulin weights 103 

Tool house 83-87 

Trash burner 103 

Tree repair 101 

Troughs 74, 75 

Vegetable cellar 92, 93 

Walks 28-34 

Walk specifications 29 

Watering troughs 74-75 

Weights for hay caps and tarpaulins 103 

Well cover 69 

Well protection 67-70 

Wind walls 63, 64 

Window hatch 112 

Wiring forms 23 




Concrete in the Country 

How the American Farmer is Solving His Conservation 

Problem 

ONSERVATION is no new problem — it is as old as life itself. 
It becomes a highly important question to the person or the 
nation only when the resources scarcely supply the demands. 
Such is the situation in the United States to-day. In the early 
days the removal of the forests was necessary that much grain 
might be grown. The young Nation had to have money, and as 
farming was the only means at hand to furnish it, the natural 
fertility of the fields was reduced. But the money thus supplied was merely 
a long-time loan on the Bank of Natural Resources. To-day the vanishing 
forests and the failing fertility of the fields bear witness that the loan is now 
due. Hence the problem of conservation. Strange as it may seem, the farmer 
is using one material not only to replace lumber but also, in a way, to restore 
the fertility of his fields — that material is concrete. 

The national and state governments and the railroads were the first to make 
extensive use of concrete. Not only did the beauty and mystery of this new con- 
struction naturally appeal to the farmer, but he concluded that the railroads did 
not use it, in preference to wood, steel and stone, merely to decorate the landscape. 
He knew too much about railroads. So strongly did the railroads' idea of economy 
(the dollar argument) appeal to him that the farmer of the West is now building 
practically everything about the farm of concrete. At first, and quite naturally, 
land-owners in the rock and gravel regions began using this new form of construc- 
tion; but, since its cheapness in first cost and value in lasting qualities have become 
generally known, a wave of enthusiasm for farm structures of concrete has swept 
the entire country. A gravel pit is now more valuable than many a gold mine. 

With little help other than looking and listening, the farmer grasped the idea 
of a concrete walk, and being a natural inventor and jack-of-all-trades, improved on 
the method by adding a small curb next to his flower bed to keep the dirt from 
washing on the white walk. This walk was a blessing to the boy — all the time 
formerly given to scrubbing and weeding the old brick walk could now be devoted 
to fishing. The yard walk was extended to the barns and outlying buildings. 
Wading through seas of mud and resulting tracked-up kitchen floors became a 
thing of the past. By simply increasing the width of the walk, a cellar floor 
was provided and the farmer had a dry cellar. This was so clean and so odorless 
that he considered such a floor fit for that most immaculate of all places — the 
milk house. Concrete cellar hatchway and steps, safe under the heaviest barrel of 
vinegar, and water-tight, were made in a manner similar to walks. 

Brick work had long been laid up in a mixture of Portland cement and sand. 



As this kept the water out, the farmer reasoned that it would keep the water in, and 
he started to build cistern floors, walls and cover of Portland cement concrete at 
one-third to one-half the cost of the old brick cistern. 

After a little more observation, he quit digging deep cistern-pits, with the 
necessary annoyance of thawing out frozen pumps and carrying water — he built a 
concrete cistern on top of the ground and made the pumping and carrying of the 
water a mere matter of turning a faucet in the kitchen and the bath room. 

Several years ago corn was so cheap that in some sections it was burned for 
fuel instead of coal. No consideration was then given to the bushels wasted in 
muddy feed lots. If the mud became too deep, the feeding was transferred to the 
blue grass pasture. To be sure, as the sod wore out, the feeding-place had to be 
changed; but somebody had advanced the idea that this particular method of 
feeding was good for the soil. Many farmers had tried wooden feeding floors and 
had found them a paying proposition as far as the saving of feed was concerned, in 
the general health of the animal, and in the shortened time of fattening. But two 
great drawbacks were the rats that infested them and the constant need of re- 
pairs. In concrete the thoughtful farmer saw the possibilities of an ideal floor — an 
easily cleaned, rat-proof, disease-proof surface upon which his hogs, sheep, cattle 
and poultry might consume the feed ^ven to the smallest particle. 

So satisfactory did the feeding floor prove that the same treatment suggested 
itself as a remedy for the fly-breeding, muddy holes in the earthen floors and the 
rat-infested wooden floors of the barns. But the careful horseman held up a bit: 
he was afraid that stamping at the flies, his valuable Percherons, Shires and Mor- 
gans might stiffen up their legs. He experimented by placing concrete floors in 
his open sheds, which were usually too muddy for the stock to lie down in stormy 
weather, just when the straw stacks afforded no protection and when he needed 
the sheds most, and found such floors satisfactory. 

To-day the manure question is one of the most important considerations of 
the time. The virgin soil of the prairies, of the cleared woodlands and of the 
broken-up ranges, for a few years produced immense crops of cotton and grain. 
To build up the decreasing productiveness of the fields the farmer soon learned that 
barnyard manure was the best thing at hand. The passing of the, cattle ranch and 
the resulting higher price of meats made stock raising very profitable even to the 
small farmer, especially since feeding floors made it possible for him to return to 
the soil, in the form of manure, all the fertility which had been removed in the 
growing of grain. Leaving out the matter of foods, the strength of manure is 
dependent directly upon its manner of storage. Manure piled on the bare ground 
or in wooden pens loses one-third to one-half of its fertilizing properties on account 
of leaching, due to heavy rains and tramping of the stock, and later because of 
fermentation or " firing " brought about by the lack of sufficient moisture. This 
fertilizer usually sells at from 75 cents to $1.00 per load. 

The farmer of to-day builds a water-tight concrete cistern or pit in which he 
stores the manure and keeps it as moist as need be. He extended the concrete 
floors to the dairy barns with the result that they were so clean, so odorless and so 
sanitary that state inspection is now often insisting and will soon force careless 



dairymen to put in such floors as a means of protecting the public health from 
disease germs carried in unclean milk. The drop-gutters carry all the liquids, the 
richest part of the manure, formerly wasted, to the manure pits. Consequently, 
one load of manure, thus properly preserved, is easily worth two loads as ordinarily 
stored. By confining the manure in pits and by paving the barn lot with concrete, 
the farm has been rid of the chief breeding-place of flies, gnats, mosquitos and 
disease. Moreover, such an interior court, surrounded by buildings and concrete 
wind-walls, forms an excellent feed and winter exercise lot. 

Government statistics show that the human death-rate on the farm, in spite 
of the fresh food and pure air, is greater than the death-rate in the city. State 
University tests of drinking-water have shown beyond a doubt that the waters of 
many ordinary shallow and unprotected wells contain the germs of such dangerous 
diseases as typhoid fever. To prevent the polluted surface waters from seeping 
into the well, many people are covering their wells and walling them up with 
water-tight concrete. Others are sinking "driven " wells and protecting them with 
concrete housings. The principle of deep wells for pure water, among other things, 
has made gasoline engines a necessity on the farm. These engines and hydraulic 
rams at springs, firmly set and housed in concrete, supply an abundance of water 
for the concrete reservoirs or elevated, reinforced pressure tanks. From these 
places of storage water is distributed to float-controlled, rot-proof watering tanks 
and troughs of the same material. With such a water-supply animals never suffer 
for water. Even springs and mouths of drain tile are improved and the water 
made clean and wholesome by the use of concrete. 

Thus the conservative farmer of the present time gives careful attention to the 
health, comfort and convenience of his family. Moreover, the care of the animals 
is not neglected. A concrete dipping vat holds the liquids which free horses, cattle, 
sheep and hogs of mange, lice, mites, ticks and fleas. The Department of Agricul- 
ture is stamping out the Texas fever and sheep scab by insisting on the use of 
dipping tanks throughout all quarantined districts. A hog wallow with concrete 
sides and bottoms gives the hog the pleasure afforded by running streams and at 
the same time protects him from the cholera often carried down from animals 
affected further up stream. 

The continual rotting off of wooden fence posts, the constantly increasing 
cost of new ones, and the annual expense of fence repairs, called for the intro- 
duction of some substitute. Land is entirely too valuable and life too short to 
attempt growing wooden posts. Even before the telephone and telegraph com- 
panies had thought of the possibilities of concrete in this line, a few venturesome 
farmers had given reinforced concrete posts a trial and found their use not only 
advisable from the standpoint of cheapness in first cost, but more profitable on 
account of their everlasting qualities. The Department of Agriculture at Wash- 
ington has thoroughly investigated the use and methods of making concrete posts 
and is furnishing a free bulletin describing the process. Such posts are also val- 
uable in the culture of grapes and hops.* 

The use of concrete in farm buildings has gradually developed from the ground 
* Farmers' Bulletin 403, Concrete Fence Posts. Sent free on application. 



upward. The drip soon rots out timber near the ground and eventually crumbles 
away the brick foundation. At first, uselessly making the walls as heavy as those 
of brick, the farmer gave concrete a trial in foundations. Concrete is stronger than 
brick. As a wall it kept the basement and bank barn dry. The height of the 
foundation wall increased until it supported the joists of the hay loft. Finally, 
after a study of methods of reinforcing, the entire barn — basement, walls, floors, 
mangers, troughs, gutters, beams and even the shingles — became concrete. 
Matches or lanterns accidentally dropped on concrete floors in concrete barns do 
not cause the terror of former times. The oil will burn until smothered out with 
a horse blanket, but no further damage will be done. 

Poultry raising on many farms has become well-nigh impossible on account of 
rats. To free the farm of these destructive animals, as a last resort and in spite of 
the assertions that the grain would spoil, the thoroughly provoked farmer put con- 
crete floors under his cribs and granaries. Corn matured enough not to spoil on 
other floors kept perfectly on concrete. The rats had to go; they could not get 
through such floors. And so we might continue, describing how farmers have 
successfully used concrete in building every class of structure from a stepping stone 
to the entire group of farm buildings. 

Just as there are right and wrong methods of farming, so, too, are there right 
and wrong ways of using concrete. It is the aim of this book to give such directions 
and information as will enable the reader to build with concrete surely and suc- 
cessfully. 

"CONCRETE IN THE COUNTRY" does not pretend to fully cover 
the subject — the field is too large to be exhausted in one such volume. But the 
publishers have attempted to deal with as wide a variety of types of concrete 
construction as is possible in the space available. 

Fuller details are given in other pamphlets, which will be furnished free to 
anyone who will write to the address given on the first page of this book. 



Publications issued by The Association of American Portland 
Cement Manufacturers. 

Bulletin No. 1 — Concrete Building Blocks. 
Bulletin No. 10 — Concrete Surface Finish. 

Bulletin No. 12 — The Progress and Logical Design of Reinforced Concrete. 
Bulletin No. 13 — Forms for Concrete. 
Bulletin No. 18 — Reinforced Concrete Chimneys. 

Bulletin No. 19— The Use of Cement in Sewer Pipe and Drain Tile Construc- 
tion. 
Bulletin No. 20 — Mixing and Placing Concrete by Hand. 
Bulletin No. 21 — Concrete Silos. 
Bulletin No. 22 — Cement Stucco. 
Bulletin No. 23— Concrete Tanks. 
Bulletin No. 24— Reinforced Concrete for Houses. 
Bulletin No. 25 — Concrete Poles. 
Bulletin No. 26— Concrete in the Country. 



What is "Concrete"? 

Concrete — a manufactured stone — is made by mixing together Portland cement, 
sand and stone (or gravel). Various proportions of each are used, depending 
upon the use to which the concrete is put. About half an hour after mixing these 
materials together, the mass begins to stiffen, until, in from half-a-day to a day, 
it becomes so hard that you cannot dent it with the hand. By a month the mass 
is hard like stone — indeed, harder than most stones. 

Materials 

Before attempting to describe the actual process of mixing and placing con- 
crete, it will be well for us to have a pretty clear understanding as to the nature of 
the materials with which we are to work, and how best these may be selected. 

Portland Cement 

Portland Cement comes in cloth sacks, paper bags or wood barrels, but the 
best way to get it is in cloth sacks. 

The wood barrel has practically been abandoned in the cement trade, and 
there are serious objections to the use of the paper bag. The paper bag is hardly 
strong enough to carry safely such a heavy material as cement, and, furthermore, 
it makes the cement more expensive to use. Manufacturers charge more for 
cement in cloth sacks, but allow a rebate for the return of the empty sacks. The 
amount that is added to the price of the cement for the paper sacks or wood 
barrel is a dead loss, because neither of these styles of packages may be returned 
for credit. 

The paper or cloth bag of cement weighs 95 pounds, and four such bags make 
a barrel of 380 pounds. 

It is important that your stock of cement be kept in a dry place. 

Once wet, it becomes hard and lumpy, and in such condition is useless. If, 
however, the lumps are caused by pressure in the store house, the cement may be 
used with safety. Lumps thus formed can be easily broken by a blow from the 
back of a shovel. 

In storing cement, throw wooden blocks on the floor. Place boards over 
them and pile the cement on the boards, covering the pile with a canvas or a 
piece of roofing paper. Never, under any circumstance, keep cement on the bare 
ground, or pile it directly against the outside walls of buildings. 

Sand 

Do not use very fine sand. If there is a large quantity of fine sand handy, 
obtain a coarse sand and mix the two sands together in equal parts; this mixture 
is as good as coarse sand alone. 

Sometimes fine sand must be used, because no other can be obtained; but in 
such an event an additional amount of cement must be used — sometimes as much 
as double the amount ordinarily required. For example, in such a case, instead 
of using a concrete 1 part cement, 2 parts sand, and 4 parts stone, use a concrete 
1 part cement, 1 part sand, and 2 parts stone. 

Besides being coarse, the sand should be clean, i. e., free from vegetable matter. 
"But," you say, "how shall I tell whether the sand is what you call clean?" 



The presence of dirt in the sand is easily ascertained by rubbing a little in 
the palm of the hand. If a little is emptied into a pail of water, the presence of dirt 
will be shown by the discoloration of the water. This can be discovered also by 
rilling a fruit jar to the depth of 4 inches with sand and then adding water until 
it is within an inch of the top. After the jar has been well shaken, the contents 
should be allowed to settle for a couple of hours. The sand will sink to the bottom, 
but the mud, which can be easily recognized by its color, will form a distinct layer 
on top of the sand, and above both will be a clear depth of water. If the layer of 
mud is more than one-half inch in thickness, the sand should not be used unless 
it is first washed. 

Having discovered that the sand you contemplate using is not clean, and pro- 
vided you cannot readily obtain any that is clean, you may use what you have, 
provided you wash it in the following manner: — 

Build a loose board platform from 10 to 15 feet long, with one end a foot 
higher than the other. On the lower end and on the sides, nail a board 2 by 6 
inches on edge, to hold the sand. Spread the sand over this platform in a layer 
three or four inches thick, and wash it with a hose. The washing should be started 
at the high end, and the water allowed to run through the sand and over the 2 by 
6-inch piece at the bottom. A small quantity of clay or loam does not injure the 
sand, but any amount over 5 per cent. does. 



Stone or Gravel 

This is known as the "coarse aggregate" of concrete. Great care should be 
used in its selection. The pebbles should be closely inspected to see that there is 
no clay on their surface. A layer of such clay prevents the "binding" of the 
cement. If necessary stone or gravel may be washed in the same way as above 
described for sand. Indeed, it is more easily done than sand, as the water flows 
through the larger voids in the gravel more readily than through the voids in the 
sand. Dust may be left in the crushed stone without fear of its interfering with 
the strength of the cement, but care should be taken to see that such dust is dis- 
tributed evenly through the whole mass, and when dust is found in stone, slightly 
less sand should be used than ordinarily. 

As to the size of stone or gravel, this must be determined by the form of 
construction contemplated. For foundations or any large thick structure, use 
anything from l /i to 2Y2 inches in diameter. For thin walls use 34 to i-inch 
stone. 

The best results are obtained by the use of a mixture of sizes graded from small 
to large. By this means the spaces or voids between the stones or pebbles are 
reduced and a more compact concrete is obtained. Moreover, this method makes 
it possible to get along with less sand and less cement. 



Pure Water Necessary in Mixing 

Water for concrete should be clean and free from strong acids and alkalies. 
It may be readily stored in a barrel beside the mixing board and placed on the 
concrete with a bucket. If you are at all in doubt about the purity of the water 
that you contemplate using, it would be well to make up a block of concrete as a 
test, and see whether the cement "sets" properly. 



10 



Proportioning the Mixture 

That mixture in which all the spaces (called "voids") between the stone or 
gravel are filled with sand, and all the spaces between the sand are filled with 
cement, is the ideal mixture. This mixture is rarely attained, as the voids in 
each load of gravel and sand vary slightly, and in order to be absolutely safe, it 
is well to use a little more cement than will just fill the voids. 




C£M£NT 




^S/JA/O 



Jro/Vf 



COA/C/?£T£ 



Fig. i. — Quantities of cement, sand, and gravel in 1:2: 4 concrete mixture, which 
means 1 part cement, 2 parts sand, 4 parts crushed stone or gravel, and the resulting 
quantity of concrete, which is only slightly greater in size than the gravel, the sand 
and cement filling the voids in the gravel. 



TABLE I. 
Showing the Quantities of Materials and the Resulting Amount of Con- 
crete for Two-bag Batch. 





Proportions by Parts. 


Two-bag Batch. 


Kind of Con- 


Ce- 
ment. 


Sand. 


Stone 

or 
Gravel. 


Materials. 


Con- 
crete. 


Size of Measur- 
ing Boxes. 
Inside Measure- 
ments. 


Water 
in Gal- 


crete Mix- 
ture. 


Ce- 
ment. 


Sand. 


Stone 

or 
Gravel. 


lons for 
Medium 




Sand. 


Stone or 
Gravel. 


Wet 
Mix- 
ture. 


1:2: 4 Con- 
crete .... 

1 : 2^ : 5 
Concrete . 


I 
I 


2 
2Yl 


4 
5 


Bags. 
2 

2 


Cu. ft. 

3% 

4% 


Cu. ft. 

lYi 
9 l A 


Cu. ft. 
IO 


2' x 2' 

2'X2K' 
UK" 


2' X 4' 
2' x 5' 

T T 1 / " 


Gallons. 
IO 

I2H 



As above explained, concrete is composed of a certain amount of cement, a 
larger amount of sand, and a still larger amount of stone (or gravel). To determine 
how much of each of these materials to use, we must first consider the type of work 
we wish to undertake. For ordinary work about the farm (silos, tanks, cisterns, 
fence posts, well curbs, etc., etc.) use twice as much stone as sand, and twice as 
much sand as cement. This is called a 1 12:4 mixture — meaning that there are 
in that mixture: 

1 part of cement, 

2 parts of sand, 

4 parts of stone or gravel. 



11 



For sidewalks, gutters, etc., a "weaker" mixture is sometimes used, consist- 
ing of: 

i part of cement, 
2Y1 parts of sand, 
5 parts of stone or gravel. 

The proportions should always be measured by volume, and the best way to 
do the measuring is by the use of a home-made "measuring box," of any kind of 
rough boards having straight sides, but with no top or bottom. The size of these 
measuring boxes is determined by the proportion desired for your mixture. For 
such boxes you need the following sized lumber: 

4 pieces 1 inch by 11^ inches by 2 feet rough (ends of sand and stone boxes). 
2 pieces 1 inch by 11 Yl inches by 4 feet rough (sides of sand box). 
2 pieces 1 inch by 11 Yl inches by 6 feet rough (sides of stone box). 

Note: The two pieces 4 feet long and the two pieces 6 feet long have an extra 
foot in length at each end to be made into a handle, as shown in Fig. 3. 

For a I : 2Y2 : 5 mixture, you require the following sized lumber: 
4 pieces 1 inch by 11 Yl inches by 2 feet (ends of sand and stone boxes). 
2 pieces 1 inch by 11 Y2 inches by 4 feet 6 inches (sides of sand box). 
2 pieces 1 inch by 11 Y2 inches by 7 feet (sides of stone box). 

Note : The two pieces 4 feet 6 inches long and the two pieces 7 feet long have 
an extra foot in length at each end to be made into a handle, as shown in Fig. 3. 

To illustrate the use of the measuring box, let us once more assume that a 
1 -.2:4 mixture is required, and that the amount of finished concrete needed is 
%Y2 cubic feet. By referring to table on page 1 1 it will be noted that two bags of 
cement are required, also 3% cubic feet of sand and "Yi cubic feet of stone or gravel. 
Under "size of measuring box" it is found that the sand should just fill a box 2 feet 
by 2 feet by \\Yi inches, and that the stone should fill a box 2 feet by 4 feet by 
\\Y inches. Lay the sand box, or frame, on the mixing platform and fill it. 
Then raise the box. Empty two bags of cement on the sand and mix as described 
under "Mixing," see pages 14-22. Even off the mixture thus obtained with your 
shovel, place the stone measuring box on top of the mixture and fill it. Raise the 
measuring box — and you have the correct amount of stone all ready to be mixed 
with the cement and sand. It is important to measure both the sand and stone 
loose in the box — never "pack" them. 

For purposes of explanation, size of mixture will be referred to as a "batch" 
of so many bags of cement. Thus, a "two-bag batch of concrete" would mean one 
requiring two bags of cement, with the sand and stone proportioned accordingly, 
as shown above. 

For a "four-bag batch of concrete" it would be necessary to multiply the 
amount of stone and gravel by 2, also multiplying the cubic contents of the measur- 
ing box by 2, and using four bags of cement instead of two. 

The table previously referred to also shows the amount of water for different 
si/cd batches, but it is to be noted that the quantity of this ingredient is only 
approximated. Use the amount indicated in the table for the first batch, and if it 
pm\ es too wet for the use desired, reduce the amount of water; if too dry, increase 
the amount of water. Always use a bucket in measuring the amount of water, 
as this secures uniform results. 



12 



Natural Mixture of Bank Sand and Gravel 

Naturally mixed bank sand and gravel are sometimes found in the right pro- 
portions for making concrete. Generally, however, there is far too much sand 
for the gravel, and great care should be exercised in using this class of material. 
Unless the mixture runs very even throughout the bank, and is found to be made 
up of one part sand to two parts gravel, it is better to screen the sand out of the 
gravel and prepare the materials in the usual way. 

Herewith is a table showing the quantities for a natural mixture of bank 
sand and gravel. The quantities can be found in the same way as in Table I, 
on page n. 



TABLE II. 
Showing the Quantities of Materials and the Resulting Amount of Con- 



crete for Two-bag Batch, 
and Gravel. 



Using Natural Mixture of Bank Sand 





Propor- 
tions BY 
Parts. 


Two-bag Batch for Natural Mixture of 
Bank Sand and Gravel. 


Kind of Concrete Mixture. 


<v 

B 

U 


Si! 




Materials. 


6 
<u 

c 

U 


Size of Measuring 
Boxes. 






s 



- 2 

a 3 a 


Mixture of Sand 
and Gravel. 


6s 

s'-S ftj 




I 
I 


4 
5 


Bags. 
2 
2 


Cu. ft. 
9\ 


Cu. ft. 
10 


2 / X4 / Xll|" 
2'x 5 'xlir 


Gallons 
10 


I ' 2 ;H2 ' 5 Concrete 


T^>i 







There are three kinds of mixtures, in general, on concrete work: — 

1st. — Very Wet Mixture. — Concrete wet enough to be mushy and run off the 
shovel when handling, used for thin walls or for thin sections, etc. 

2d. — Medium Mixture. — Concrete just wet enough to make it jelly-like, 
used for foundations, floors, etc. To better describe this mixture it may be said 
that a man should sink ankle deep if he were to step on top of the pile. 

3d. — Dry Mixture. — Concrete like damp earth, used for foundations, etc., 
where it is important to have the concrete "set" up as quickly as possible. 

The difference between the mixtures is, that the dryer the mixture the quicker 
will the concrete "set up " — but in the long run, when carefully mixed and "placed," 
the results from any of the above mixtures will be identical. It may be said, how- 
ever, that a dry mixture is the harder to handle, must be protected with greater 
care from the sun or from drying too quickly; and lastly, is likely — unless used by 
most experienced hands — to show voids or stone pockets in the face of the work 
when the "Forms" are removed. The less the voids in the stone or gravel, the 
greater will be the volume of the concrete. In general, the amount of concrete 
will be greater in each instance than is shown in the table — especially when gravel 
is used. 



13 



Tool 



s 



One great advantage of concrete, so far as the farmer is concerned, lies in the 
fact that, generally speaking, it necessitates no outlay for tools, for it so happens 
that most of the tools needed for forms of concrete construction are the very 
ones every farmer uses — 

Shovels — One for each man on the job. 

Wheelbarrows — At least two, preferably those with sheet iron bodies. 

Rake. 

Water Barrel. 

Several Water Buckets. 

A Tamper or Rammer — This is made of wood with handles nailed to it, as 
shown in Fig. 2. The measurement is 4 inches by 2 inches by 2 feet 6 inches. 

A Garden Spade. 

A Sand Screen, made by nailing a piece of J^-ineh mesh wire screen, 2Y2 
feet by 5 feet in size, to a frame made of 2-inch by 4-inch scantling. 

In addition to the above tools you will require a Mixing Board. This is 
simply a water-tight platform. It should be (for a two batch mixture and for two 
men to work on) about 10 feet square. Make it out of i-inch boards 10 feet long, 
surfaced on one side, using 5 cleats to' hold the boards together. The cleats should 
measure 2 inches by 4 inches by 9 feet. If i-inch by 6-inch tongued and grooved 
roofers can be obtained, these will answer very nicely, provided they are fairly 
free from knots. The object of having surfaced boards is to make the shoveling 
or turning easy. The boards should be so laid as to enable the shoveling to be 
done with and not against the cracks between the boards. The boards must be 
drawn up close in nailing, so that no cement "grout" will run through while 
mixing. 

For a larger job, a slightly larger mixing board will be needed. 

In setting up your mixing board, choose a place giving plenty of room near 
the storage piles of sand and stone. Block up your concrete board level, so that 
the cement grout will not run off on one side, and so that the board will not sag 
in the middle under the weight of the concrete. 

Wheelbarrow "Runs" 

You will also have to make wheelbarrow "runs" leading from your mixing 
board to the spot where the concrete is to be placed. Do not use, for these runs, 
any old boards that are handy. Make a good run — smooth, and, if much above 
the ground, at least 20 inches wide. This one feature will lighten and quicken 
the work to a remarkable extent. 



How to Mix Concrete 

Having selected the proper materials and arranged the mixing board and 
runs, the next step is the actual process of mixing. 

The proportions of materials and the nature of same for various types of work 
have already been described on pages 11-13. In following the mixing instruc- 
tions here given, considerable assistance will be obtained by referring to the 
illustrations with which instructions are interspersed. 



15 




Fig. 3. — Lifting off the Sand Measuring Box and Getting Cement Ready. 




Fig. 4. — Spreading the Cement Over the Sand. 



16 



The Hand Mixing Method 

There are many ways of "hand mixing," all having the same good results. 
The way described here we believe to be the one best calculated to obtain good 
results with a minimum of labor. In this description, and the accompanying 
illustrations, we have taken as a basis a "Two-Bag Batch" of 1 : 2 14 concrete. 

First load your sand in wheelbarrows from the sand pile, wheel on to the 
"Board," and fill the sand-measuring box, which is placed about two feet from 
one of the 10-foot sides of the board, as shown by the diagram in Fig. 3. When 
the sand box is filled, lift it off and spread the sand over the board in a layer 3 
or 4 inches thick, as shown in Fig. 4. Take the two bags of cement and place 
the contents as evenly as possible over the sand (see Fig. 4). With the two 
men at points marked "x" and "xx" on the sketch below Fig. 4, start mixing 
the sand and cement, each man turning over the half on his side of the line AA. 
Starting at his feet and shoveling away from him, each man takes a full shovel-load, 
turning the shovel over at the points marked 1 and 2 respectively in Fig. 4. In 
turning the shovel, do not simply dump the sand and cement at the points marked 
1 and 2 in the diagram under the cut, but shake the materials off the end and sides 
of the shovel, so that the sand and cement are mixed as they fall. This is a great 
assistance in mixing these materials. In this way the material is shoveled from 
one side of the board to the other, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 shows the first 
turning, and Fig. 6 the second turning. 

The sand and cement should now be well mixed and ready for the stone and 
water. After the last turning, spread the sand and cement out carefully, place 
the gravel or stone measuring box beside it as shown in Fig. 7, and fill from the 
gravel pile. Lift off the box and shovel the gravel on top of the sand and cement, 
spreading it as evenly as possible. With some experience, equally good results 
can be obtained by placing the gravel measuring box on top of the carefully leveled 
sand and cement mixture, and filling it, thus placing the gravel on top without an 
extra shoveling. This method is shown in Fig. 8. Add about three-fourths the 
required amount of water, using a bucket and dashing the water over the gravel 
on top of the pile as evenly as possible. (See Fig. 9.) Be careful not to let too 
much water get near the edges of the pile, as it will run off, taking some cement with 
it. This caution, however, does not apply to a properly constructed mixing board, 
as the cement and water cannot get away. Starting the same as with the sand 
and cement, turn the materials over in much the same way, except that instead of 
shaking the materials off the end of the shovel, the whole shovel load is dumped 
as at points 1 or 2 in the diagram under Fig. 4 and dragged back toward the mixer 
with the square point of the shovel. This mixes the gravel with the sand and 
cement, the wet gravel picking up the sand and cement as it rolls over when 
dragged back by the shovel. (See Fig. 10.) Add water to the dry spots as the 
mixing goes on until all the required water has been used. Turn the mass back 
again, as was done with the sand and cement. With experienced laborers, the 
concrete should be well mixed after three such turnings; but if it shows streaky 
or dry spots, it must be turned again. After the final turning, shovel into a 
compact pile. The concrete is now ready for placing. 



17 




Fig. 5. — First Turning, Sand and Cement. 




Fig. 6. — Second Turning, Sand and Cement. 



18 




Fig. 7. — Filling the Stone (or Gravel) Measuring Box — First Method. 





Fig. 8.- 



-Filling the Stone (or Gravel) Measuring Box When on Top of Mixed Sand and 
Cement — Second Method. 



19 




Fig. 9. — Placing the Water on the Stone (or Gravel) which is on Top of the Mixed 

Sand and Cement. 



Mixing Natural Mixture of Bank Sand and Gravel 

Spread out the mixture of sand and gravel as much as the board will readily 
permit, add enough water to wet the gravel and sand thoroughly, spread the 
cement evenly in a thin layer over the sand and gravel, and turn over, as described 
previously, at least three times, adding the rest of the water necessary to get the 
required consistency while the materials are being turned. It requires some 
experience to work up a natural mixture of bank sand and gravel, and if at all 
doubtful about the concrete made from it, first screen the sand from the gravel, 
and then mix in the regular way. 




Fig. 10. — Mixing the Stone (or Gravel) with the Sand and Cement. 



20 



Number of Men 

For the above operation only two men are required, although more can be 
used to advantage. If three men are available, let two of them mix as described 
above and the third man supply the water, help mix the concrete by raking over 
the dry or unmixed spots as the two mixers turn the concrete, help load the wheel- 
barrows with sand and stone or gravel, etc. Fig. 5 shows a third man on the board. 
In this illustration, he is helping mix the sand and cement by raking it — a most 
effective practice. 

If four men are available, it is best to increase the size of the batch mixed to a 
four-bag batch, doubling the quantities of all materials used. The cement board 
should also be increased to 10 by 12 feet as shown under "Tools." In this 
case start the mixing in the middle of the board, and each pair of men mixing exactly 
as if for a two-bag batch, except that the concrete is shoveled into one big mass 
each time it is turned back on to the center of the board. When more than four 
men are available, the rest may place the concrete, make new runs, load wheel- 
barrows, etc., taking the concrete away from the board as fast as it is mixed. In 
this case another small concrete board should be placed next to the big "board," 
so that in the last turning the batch can be shoveled over on to the small board 
for placing, making room on the big board to mix the next batch. The small 
platform need be only just big enough to hold the pile of mixed concrete. 



How to Determine Quantities of Materials Needed 

First figure the number of cubic feet of concrete that will be required for the 
work in question. Then by multiplying this number by the number under the 
proper column and required mixture shown in Table III, the amounts of cement, 
sand, and stone or gravel can be found. 



TABLE III. 








Quantities of Material in i Cu. 


Ft. of Concrete 


Mixture 


Cement, 
Barrel 


Sand, 
Cu. Yard 


Stone or Gravel, 
Cu. Yard 


1:2 : 4 Concrete 

1 : 2 x /i : 5 Concrete 


.058 
.048 


.OI63 
.0176 


.0326 
•0352 



Example 

Suppose the work consists of a concrete silo requiring in all 935 cubic feet of 
concrete, of which 750 cubic feet is to be 1 12:4 concrete, and 185 cubic feet is to 
be 1 : 2Y2 '• 5 concrete. Also enough sand and cement is needed to paint the silo 
inside and outside, in all 400 square yards of surface, with a 1 : 1 mixture of sand 
and cement. One cubic foot of 1 : 1 mortar will paint about 15 square yards of 
surface and requires 0.1856 barrels of cement and 0.0263 cubic yards of sand. 



21 



Solution, Etc. 

Thus the necessary quantities of materials are: — 

5/3/2 barrels of Portland cement. 

i6}/2 cubic yards of sand. 

31 cubic yards of stone or gravel. 

It is always wise to order two or three extra barrels of cement, if the dealer 
is at considerable distance, as this avoids any possible trouble that a shortage 
might cause. Besides, any cement left over always comes in handy for repair 
work around the house or barn. 



Forms for Concrete 

Concrete is a plastic material and before hardening, takes the shape of any- 
thing against which or in which it is placed. 

Naturally, the building of the Form is a most important item in the success 
of the work. 

These Forms hold the concrete in place, support it until it has hardened and 
give it its shape, as well as its original surface finish. 

Kinds of Forms 

Almost any material which will hold the concrete in place will do for a Form. 
Concrete foundations for farm buildings require shallow trenches, and usually the 
earth walls are firm enough to act as a Form. 

Molds of wet sand are used for ornamental work. Frequently colored sands 
are used for this purpose, providing both the finished surface and color to the con- 
crete ornament. 

Cast, wrought or galvanized iron is used, where an extremely smooth finish 
is desired, without further treatment upon the removal of the Forms. Forms 
made of iron are more easily cleaned, and can be used a greater number of times 
than those of wood. Rusty iron, however, should not be used. 

By far the greatest number of Forms are made of wood, owing to the fact 
that lumber in small quantities can always be obtained. 

Requirements of a Good Form 

Plan your Forms so there will be no difficult measurements to understand. 
Make as few pieces of lumber do the work as you can, and do not drive the Forms 
full of nails. If you do the Forms will be difficult to take apart without splitting. 

Forms must be strong enough to hold the weight of the concrete without bulging 
out of shape. When they bulge, cracks open between the planks and the water 
in the concrete, with some cement and sand, will leak out. This weakens the 
concrete, and causes hollows in the surface which look badly after the Forms are 
removed. 

I < >rms which 1< >se I heir shape after being used once can hardly be used a second 
time. A part of the erection cost of Forms is saved if the Forms are built in as 
large a section as i- convenient to handle. This saving applies to their removal, 
a- well as to their setting. Consequently, the lightest Forms possible, with the 
largest surface area, are the most economical. 



22 



How to Plan Forms 

The first consideration in planning Forms is the use to which they are to be 
put. Neglect of this point means waste of money and time. If they are for work 
afterward to be covered with a veneer coat, the finish of the surface is of small 
consideration, while the alignment 
of the Form is all-important. 

If a tank or retaining wall 
is to be built, the fact that the 
Forms are not in exact alignment 
will hardly be noticed. 

In planning Forms for large 
structures, the oftener each sec- 
tion is used, the less the cost. 
You save money if they are rigid in 
alignment, and well surfaced. In 
other words, if you count on using 
your Forms over and over again, 
the more nearly perfect they are, 
the more often they can be used, 
and the cheaper they become. 

If Forms are to be used only 
once, as is generally the case 
on the farm, they should not be 
nailed so securely as to prevent 
their being readily taken apart, 
and the lumber used for some- 
thing else. If often pays to put 
them together with screws. If 
nails are used, do not drive them 
home. 

Care Needed in Selecting 
Lumber for Forms 

The selection of lumber is of 
importance. If the Forms are to 
be used over many times, sur- 
faced lumber, matched, tongued, 
and grooved stuff, free from loose 
knots, is an economy. If, how- 
ever, they are to be used only 
once, almost any old plank will 
do. By nailing a board on the 
outside of the cracks or over the 
bad knot, and filling with a little clay, the Form is made tight. 

Green lumber is preferable to kiln-dried or seasoned stuff. Seasoned stuff, 
when wet (either by throwing water on the form before placing the concrete or by 
absorbing the water from the concrete) warps, and the shape and tightness of the 
Form are damaged. 




Wiring Forms Prevents Bulging. 



23 




Originally only surfaced lumber was used for Forms, dependence being placed 
on it for giving a finish to the work. While to-day other than smooth surfaces for 
concrete are the fashion, surfaced lumber has some advantages. The Forms fit 
together better and are easier to erect. They are more easily cleaned. They are 
easier to remove. All these items reduce the cost of the work. The saving effected 
will of course depend on the difference in local price between finished and rough 
lumber. 

How to Clean 

Particles of concrete stick to the Forms. In order to prevent this, give the 
surface next the concrete a coat of oil or soft soap. Linseed, black or cylinder oil 
may be used. Never use kerosene. 

Before erecting, paint the Forms with the oil or soap. Then carefully protect 
them from dust or dirt until erected. Upon removal, immediately clean off all 
the particles of concrete sticking to the surface. A short-handled hoe will take 
off the worst, while a wire brush is most effective for finishing. • Be careful not to 
gouge the wood in cleaning, as it will spoil the surface of your next section of con- 
crete. It will not be found necessary to repaint after each time of use. Watch 
the surface and repaint if it appears dry in spots. 

If chips or blocks of wood fall inside the Forms while erecting, carefully remove 
them. The space inside the Forms is intended for the concrete; and care should 
be taken to see that only concrete is placed there. 

The necessity of Forms presents a problem calling for the use of that ingenuity 
for which the farmer is justly famed. Forms can be economically placed in so 
main ways that only one example will be given. A foundation Form in place is 
shown in the photograph. Note the simple and easy method of bracing. Also 
note how lumber is saved from cutting by allowing the sides to project, as well as the 
studding. 

For this building, is by 24 feet, trench 18 inches wide and 2 feet deep — total 
cost of setting forms S4.00. The lumber was all on hand and can be used again. 



24 



How to Place Concrete 

No time should elapse between the "mixing" and the "placing." Directions 
for placing must of necessity be general, and the farmer must use his own judgment 
as to how to handle this part of the concrete work, in connection with whatever 
particular job he has on hand. The important thing to remember is, that the 
materials should not separate in placing. 

You may shovel the concrete off the board directly into the work; you may 
shovel it into wheelbarrows, wheel it to position and dump, or you may carry it to 
the proper place by buckets and hoisting apparatus. 

Directions for Placing 

Ordinarily speaking, concrete 
should be deposited in layers about 
6 inches thick. 

After placing concrete in the 
Form, it should be "tamped" lightly 
with a wooden or iron tamper (or 
rammer) until the water shows on 
the top and no stones are left uncov- 
ered by mortar. 

In order to obtain a smooth face 
on the concrete, the mixture should 
be carefully " spaded" immediately 
after "placing" — on the side next to 
the Form where the finished concrete 
will be exposed to view. By "spad- 
ing" is meant the working of a spade 
or a beveled board between the con- 
crete and the side of the Form, mov- 
ing it to and fro, and up and down. 
This forces the large stones away 
from the boarding, or Form, and 
brings a coating of mortar next there- 
to, thus making the face of the work 
present an even, smooth appearance. 



The Necessary Tools 

On certain jobs — as, for instance, 
in the case of a 6-inch silo wall — a 

spade cannot very well be used, on account of the narrowness of the concrete sec- 
tion. In this event, use for surfacing, a thin wooden paddle, made from a 
board i inch by 4 inches, and gradually sharpened to a chisel edge at the end. 
The sharpening should be on one side only, and in using this paddle place the 
flat side against the Form, as shown in illustration. 

When the mixture is a dry one, great care must be used in this "spading" or 
surfacing, in order to obtain uniform results, but in the case of a wet mixture, 
spading is only required as an added precaution against the possibility of voids in 
the face of the work, and in many cases it is not necessary at all. 




25 



Protection of Concrete after Placing 

Green concrete should not be exposed to the sun until after it has been 
allowed to set for five or six days. Each day during that period the concrete should 
be wet down by sprinkling water on it, both in the morning and afternoon. This 
is done so that the concrete on the outside will not dry out much faster than the 
concrete in the center of the mass, and should be carried out carefully, especially 
during the hot summer months. Old canvas, sheeting, burlap, etc., placed so 
as to hang an inch or so away from the face of the concrete will do very well as 
a protection. Wet this, as well as the concrete. Often the concrete Forms can be 
left in place a week or ten days; this protects the concrete during the setting-up 
period and the above precautions are then unnecessary. 



Points to Remember 

It may be well, in summing up, to emphasize the following points: — 

ist. The materials must be perfectly clean. 

2d. The mixing must be in proportions carefully determined. 

3d. The mixture must be used while absolutely fresh. 

Good results cannot be obtained unless you use a good cement, nor will the 
work be at its best unless care is taken in the selection of clean sand and clean 
stone. 

Among the uninitiated, there is an all too prevalent idea that anything is 
good enough for the making of concrete. Some will tell you that sawdust, shavings, 
mud, clay, etc., will do to complete the mixture, but the absurdity of this notion 
will very soon become evident to anyone who neglects the precautions which have 
been above pointed out. 



Reinforcement 

Principles Involved 

Concrete and steel render valuable assistance to each other in the support of 
heavy burdens. On a solid foundation, loaded from above and thus under direct 
pressure, a concrete column will withstand the strain of an enormous load. A much 
smaller load so placed as to cause stretching or bending toward one side of the same 
column may cause it to snap off, for concrete is strong, but brittle. On the other 
hand, steel i^ tough and elastic. In the form of rods or wire, steel withstands 
massive loads that tend to stretch it, and thus displays a kind of strength directly 
opposite to that of the plain concrete column. In modern construction these two 
valuable properties of concrete and steel are utilized by combining them in what is 
called reinforced concrete! With steel properly buried in the concrete, the column 
withstands not only the load which might otherwise snap it, but one many times 
larger, and even though it is applied at any place along its length 

Reinforcement . therefore, is steel in the form of rods, bars or wires, buried in 
concrete to take np and to withstand the strains which tend to stretch or to bend 
the concrete. A concrete fence post is merely a small concrete column. Rein- 
forced, ii easil) stands the strain from usage in a fence line. 



26 




The value of reinforcing concrete posts properly may readily be seen in the 
figure. If a load (L) is raised so that its weight is supported on one side by a 
wooden post, the post will bend. The fibre in the wood on the side away from the 
load may be tough and elastic enough to prevent the post from breaking, and when 
released the post will spring back into its former position. In the third figure a 
No. 9 wire (W) is fastened securely to the wooden post at the top and at the ground 
surface, and is supported along its length by the struts (S). If the same load is 
applied, the post will not bend, because the wire takes up the bending or stretching 
strain. This is precisely the case with the reinforcement in a concrete post. 
Supported along its length by the concrete, the wire (W) or steel in other shapes 
takes up the bending or stretching strains. Since the load which causes bending 
or stretching may come from any direction, concrete posts are reinforced on every 
side; otherwise they might break in a manner somewhat similar to that in which 
the wooden post bends when the reinforcement is not on the proper side of the post. 

In the effort to be safe it is a common fault to insert more reinforcement than 
is absolutely necessary. This adds needlessly to the cost, for concrete becomes 
stronger as it grows older. 

Kinds of Reinforcement 

With regard to the roughness of the outside, metallic reinforcing materials 
are divided into two classes, smooth and corrugated or deformed. The general 
result of the many tests carried on in testing laboratories seems to indicate that in 
strength of bond, if the concrete is sufficiently rich and well mixed, smooth surfaces 
gives satisfactory results. Two kinds of reinforcement are much used — bars and wire. 

Bars. — Round bars three-sixteenths or one-fourth of an inch in diameter are 
the size and kind most used on the farm. The stock on hand at blacksmith shops 
and hardware stores is generally from steel that stretches too easily and therefore 
is not the best for reinforcement. Companies which make a specialty of reinforcing 
materials can furnish both rods and bars which stretch only under very large loads. 

Wire. — The development of the wire fence has produced a material well suited 
for reinforcing purposes. Of equal size, such wire will produce a stronger reinforce- 
ment than the material above described. In order to obtain straight wire of the 
necessary length, the coils ordinarily placed on the market should not be straight- 
ened out. Straight wire can be obtained from dealers in the same manner as baling 
wire ; that is,, either single or twisted into two or three-ply cables, and of the length de- 
sired. The plain, ungalvanized fencing wire is the proper kind, for galvanization adds 
nothing to the strength, and the metal will not rust when incased in the concrete. 



27 



Concrete Sidewalks and Floors 

Concrete floors are nothing more than sidewalks of large size, and are formed 
by casting slabs in place. 

The description given is an economical and practical method of laying side- 
walks or floors, easily adapted to any use where concrete is found advantageous. 
This description will therefore apply not only to the building of sidewalks, but to 
all flat surfaces of concrete resting on the ground. 

Lasting Qualities 

Concrete floors must remain hard and in position to be permanent. To 
accomplish this, good materials must be used, and proper methods of mixing and 
placing must be followed. Only in this way can settlement cracks, upheaval by 
frost or roots of trees, contraction cracks, crumbling, and general failure be avoided. 

Settlement Cracks 

To avoid settlement cracks, thoroughly ram the ground after excavating for 
the foundation. This gives a solid bearing to the concrete slab. 

Upheaval by Frost 

To prevent upheaval by frost a foundation formed of crushed stone, hard 
furnace cinders, brick bats broken to about a 2-inch size, broken tile or any other 
hard porous material, should be laid in such a way as to obtain perfect drainage. 
Never use ashes. 

If freezing occurs, room is in this way provided between the pieces of stone for 
the expansion of the ice. 

If this foundation is placed in clay soil, side outlets or blind drains of tile 




28 



should be provided at points along the walk where they are necessary, leading into 
holes filled with cinders or crushed stone, which will allow the surrounding earth to 
soak up the accumulated water. Clay soil holds the water collected in the drainage 
foundation, and if it becomes entirely full of water, the ice formed during freezing 
weather will upheave the walk. 

Upheaval by Tree Roots 

Upheaval by tree roots can be easily avoided by cutting out all roots which 
run under the pavement at a less depth than 18 inches below the surface of the 
ground. 

Contraction Cracks 

Cement concrete expands and contracts by changes of temperature in the 
same way as steel. It is, therefore, necessary to cut joints which will allow for 
this expansion and contraction. The concrete must be cut entirely through to the 
bottom of the slab with a trowel, cleaver or other instrument, the joint formed 
being from y& to }/i of an inch wide. Blocks formed in this way should not be 
greater than 6 feet square (36 square feet). 

Scaling or Crumbling of the Surface 

The principal causes of scaling or crumbling surfaces are improper mixing, 
drying out before the cement has thoroughly hardened and the use of bad materials. 

Cement needs water not only when mixed, but after being placed and tamped, 
and until it has entirely hardened. If concrete is not kept continually wet until 
hard, it is weakened, and the surface of such a walk scales or becomes soft and 
chalky. 

Specifications 

Drainage Foundation 

Stake out the lines of the walk, or dimensions of the floor. Excavate to a 
depth of 16 inches, ram and tamp the ground thoroughly and evenly and fill in 
12 inches with clean large cinders, broken stone, pebbles, brick bats, broken tile 
or other material selected. Place in position wooden forms made of 2 by 4's, these 
2 by 4's to be set on edge and held in position by stakes firmly driven in the 
ground, the top edge to be located so as to accurately outline the established grade 
or slope of the walk or floor. 

A walk should be higher in the center, or at one edge, to insure the water run- 
ning off. This slope should be 34 of an inch to the foot. 

Selection of Materials 

Particular attention must be paid to the selection of the materials and their 
mixing. 

The concrete should be composed of gravel or crushed stone all of which will 
pass through a %-inch mesh screen, and be collected on a 3^-inch mesh; sand, free 
from loam and preferably coarse, and a grade of Portland cement guaranteed to 
meet all the requirements of the Standard Specifications as adopted by the American 
Society for Testing Materials and the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Proportions 
The strength of the slab is not always governed by its thickness. The greater 
strength is obtained by properly proportioning the gravel or crushed stone, sand 



29 




and Portland cement, so that all the spaces between the stone are filled with sand 
and cement. 

The Portland cement, sand and gravel or crushed stone should be mixed in 
proportions, if the sand is not very coarse, of i : 2 : 4 — which means, 1 part Portland 
cement, 2 parts sand, 4 parts gravel or crushed stone, all passing a 24-inch mesh 
and all collected on a 34 _m ch mesh. If the sand is coarse and the crushed stone 
or gravel well graded in size of particles, it may be mixed in proportions of 1 part 
Portland cement, 2^ parts sand, 5 parts gravel or broken stone. All proportions 
are measured by volume. 

Bank run gravel is often used for sidewalk work, particularly where 
a good bank can be found oil the farm. It is safer, if this material be used, 
to screen out the pebbles, using them a- stone, measuring the quantities 
of stone and sand as described above. Concrete should not be laid in freezing 
weather. 




Consistency of Concrete 
Mix the concrete as described on page 15 to a consistency that when tamped, 
it will not quake, but it should be sufficiently wet so that some moisture will rise to 
the surface under tamping. 

Placing 

Divide the walk by setting forms at right angles to the side forms. The cross 
forms can be made of 2 by 4's. These provide for expansion and contraction joints. 
Hold these forms in place by driving stakes through the foundation into the ground 
on the opposite side from where the concrete is to be placed. Spread the concrete 
over the drainage foundation to the thickness of the walk or floor, and in slabs 
not over 6 feet square. The thickness of a walk should be 4 inches, a driveway 6 
inches, a floor over which a wagon may be driven 6 inches, and all other floors 4 
inches. 

Fill in every other slab, placing enough forms to use up all the concrete mixed in 
one batch. No batch should stand longer than one half hour before being placed. 

Tamp the concrete thoroughly. Use a template, with ends resting on the 
side forms, and cut to a curve to give the walk the necessary crown. The concrete 



31 




should be tamped so as to conform to the curve of the template. If one edge of 
the walk is made higher than the other, use a straight edge resting on the side 
forms. Tamp the concrete to conform to the straight edge. 

Mix another batch of concrete, remove the cross forms and place the concrete 
between each slab, forming a continuous walk. Use the template or straight edge 
and tamp as before. Immediately after placing the closing slab, work a straight 
trowel or knife down through the entire depth of the concrete between each slab, 
thus insuring a perfect contraction joint. Smooth the surface with a wooden float. 






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mm 

* '4 * 



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A neat appearance may be given the contraction joints by running a jointer 
along the top, thus smoothing the edges. Do this before the concrete gets too hard. 
The sides of the walk may be smoothed in the same way by use of an edger. 

When the concrete is nearly hard go over the surface with a piece of oakum 
or a stiff brush, removing the marks of the float and giving a good even wearing 




33 



















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surface which will not be slippery. In using oakum or a brush be careful not to 
remove the larger pieces of stone. If surfacing in this manner disturbs the 
particles of stone and roughens the walk to too great an extent, allow the walk to 
harden a little more before finishing in this way. At the end of each day's work 
see that the last slab is entirely filled and finished. 

All interior floors, such as floors of cellar, barns and stables require no con- 
traction joints. They are made by laying a solid continuous sheet of concrete. 
All outside floors should have contraction joints forming slabs not over 6 feet 
square. These are provided the same as in sidewalks. A feeding floor is formed 
merely by sidewalk pavements set side by side. Instead of using a template for 
crowning the surface, use a straight edge, each end resting on the extreme outside 
forms to give a slope to the feeding floor. Contraction joints for exterior floors 
are formed in the same way as for sidewalks. The concrete is also placed in alter- 
nate slabs and finished in the same way as sidewalks. When completed the walk or 
floor must be continuously protected from the rays of the sun and from the wind 
for at least three days, so that it will not dry out at any time. This can be easily 
done by covering the concrete when it is hard with hay, straw, or old carpet. This 
covering should be thoroughly soaked with water, and kept wet for three or four 
days or longer if economy will permit. 

While the walk or floor is hardening it should be so protected as to prevent 
persons or animals from disfiguring the surface by walking on it. 



'/// ^;f *•:.-: ::•;•/•• ••-;:.* •-/•-• .:*-•»..• - ^; 



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A Foundation Gutter and Walk 

Foundation gutters catch the water from off the rain-beaten side of the 
building, quickly carry it away, and, by preventing "seepage," keep the cellar, 
basement, or ground-floor dry. In sloppy, muddy weather, they also serve as 
convenient walks around the out-buildings. 

Determine the grading or sloping of the gutter bottom from observation of 
direction of the flow of surface 
water during rain storms, or from 
local conditions, such as location 
of outlet into underground drain. 
Excavate a trench I foot 6 inches 
in width, 10 inches deep on each 
side, and hollowed out to 13 inches 
deep in the middle. Use a straight 
edge or a grade cord, together 
with a spirit level, to give the 
bottom of the trench the desired 
slope or "fall." For each foot of 
length a slope of one-eighth inch 
will be sufficient. 

Clean the dirt off the founda- 
tion wall with a stiff broom or 
brush. 

In the bottom of the trench place a 6-inch foundation of well-" tamped" 
gravel, brickbats or crushed stone. 

Make a one-bag batch of concrete in proportions, 1 : 2^ : 5. Have the mix- 
ture just wet enough to tamp well. 




35 




Place a 4-inch thickness of concrete to form a dish-shaped gutter 3 inches 
deep in the middle. Every five feet, make an expansion joint yi of an inch 



wide by inserting a metal strip not less than 




inches wide and 18 inches long, 
or by cutting a joint entirely 
through the concrete with a 
straight spade. Smooth the 
surface with a wooden float. 

Materials Required 

One cubic yard crushed 
rock or screened gravel; Y2 
cubic yard sand ; 6 bags of Port- 
land cement, for a 50-foot sec- 
tion. 

Repairs to Farm 
Buildings 

Since wood always fails first 
at the ground, the use of concrete 
on the farm has developed from 
the ground up. After a farmer 
has had to replace several sills 
or blocks of wood, he begins 
to look about him for a new 
material which will not rot or will 
not have to be replaced. Con- 
crete is his natural selection. 



36 




Support the building by temporary struts, alongside of the post to be removed. 
Saw off post entirely above rotten part. Dig a hole directly under the post 2 
feet deep, and slightly larger than the post itself. Build a box with sides only, 
with the same inside measurement as the hole already dug. The box must be 
long enough to reach from the ground to a few inches above the bottom of 
post. 

Fill hole with concrete, mixed 1 12:4. Then place the box in position, and 
fill it with concrete until the bottom of the sawed-off post is embedded about Y2 
an inch in the mixture. Leave the forms in place for one week and after two weeks 
remove the struts which have been used as temporary support for the building. 
The concrete should be mixed 
fairly wet, and churned with a 
stick while being placed. 

The bottom of the foundation 
may be made larger than the top, 
by simply sloping one side of 
the box form — giving the effect 
shown in the photograph. 

Why Concrete Should be 

Used to Repair Farm 

Buildings 

Repairs to foundations of this 
kind vary greatly in size and 
shape. Concrete is the only mate- 
rial which can be used for any 
purpose, whether large or small, 




37 




without first having to be cut to the shape and size desired, 
is no cheaper known material for this kind of work. 



Consequently there 



Replacing an Entire Foundation with Concrete 

The work can be done by the farmer, with the help of his own farm labor, at 
times when more important work is not claiming his attention. 

Foundations of concrete are indestructible. 

At necessary points, remove a few stones or bricks, as the case may be, in- 
serting short pieces of heavy timber to wedge or jack up the building. Carefully 
raise the building, by this means, until it stands free of all foundations. Remove 
all the old stone or brick foundation to be replaced, and set in place the forms for 
the concrete. 

Small buildings can usually be raised high enough to allow working room, 
whereby the form may be filled right up to the top with concrete! The mixture 
should be a wet one. (Proportions, I 12:4.) 

Where buildings are too cumbersome to be raised by "jacking," to a sufficient 
height to give head-room, it will be found necessary to make the foundations 3 
inches wider than the sill. Carry the forms to the desired height and utilize this 
extra 3 inches of width for placing the concrete in the forms. The top board of 
the forms may also be left off until you are ready to place the last of the concrete. 
In this case the last batch of the concrete should be very wet. Tamp the concrete 
until it comes up flush with the bottom of the sill, to the entire width of the wall. 

Be sure to leave a space in the concrete wall, under and on the sides of the 
underpinning support, so that the building may later be lowered back onto the 
new foundation and the timber removed. This opening must be slightly larger 
than the underpinning support. After the building has been lowered fill these 
openings with concrete. Lower the building after the foundation has been in two 
weeks. 



38 




A Concrete Entrance Floor 

At a point 3 feet from the building, dig a trench 6 inches wide and 18 inches 
deep — the length of this trench to be 2 feet greater than the width of the doorway 
of the building. From the edge of the trench nearest to the building, dig away the 
earth between trench and building to a depth of 1 foot, and place here, to a depth 
of 6 inches, a fill of either coarse gravel or crushed rock. Do not, however, place 
any of this gravel fill in the trench. Mix concrete 1 : 2^ : 5. and lay same, first 
in the trench, and then on top of the gravel fill; sloping the surface so that it just 
meets the floor level at the doorway. Before the concrete has had time to set, 
provide a runway slot for the sliding doors — or better, build little guides or humps 
with the concrete, to hold the doors in position. If the doors happen to be swinging 
ones, place a gas pipe or iron socket in the soft concrete, for a "shove-fastener." 

Note the concrete curb on the right of entrance door. This prevents the 
gravel that surrounds the building from washing down onto the approach and getting 
in the way of the doors. To 
build this curb, use i-inch 
planks placed on top of the 
concrete floor, to serve as forms 
to hold concrete in place. 

Materials Required 

One cubic yard of crushed 
stone or screened gravel; 2Y2 
cubic yards of sand; 5 bags of 
Portland cement. 

This entrance floor was 
constructed in half a day, by 
one man. 




39 




Farm Buildings Should be Connected by a Con- 
crete Driveway 

By using concrete to connect up your buildings, you have a solid, substantial 
roadway that will last for all time — instead of the usual muddy, untidy space that 
ordinarily separates such buildings. 

To construct a driveway between the various buildings of a farm, first excavate 
a trench 12 inches deep, this trench being the exact width that you wish the finished 
driveway to be. Six feet is a convenient width; but the drive should be made 
slightly wider than this at the corners to provide for turning of vehicles. 

Place in the trench a fill of gravel to a depth of 6 inches and tamp it well. 
On top of the gravel fill, place your concrete mixture, to a depth of 6 inches on the 
sides, and 7 inches at the center. 

For this work, concrete should be mixed in proportions 1 : 2Y2 '• 5> and wet 
enough to pack well. 



£'©■ 




40 




To finish, no mortar is needed. Leave the surface rough, so as to afford a 
better footing for the horses and cattle. 



Materials Required 

5 bags of Portland cement 1 

Y<L cubic yard of sand I make a section of roadway 



i cubic yard of crushed stone or 
screened gravel 



6 by 10 feet 



Approximate cost, at current prices of materials, 6 cents per square foot of 
surface. 



Alleyways Between Buildings 

The farmer of to-day plans for comfort and convenience. About the home, 
mud is the greatest of all nuisances. In the spring and winter, the driveways from 
the public road and the alleyways between buildings become so muddy that they 
are often impassable. As a result the grassy lawns and lots are driven over, cut 
to pieces, and the general appearance of the farm is ruined. Moreover, in bad 
weather the chores cannot be done unless the "hands" wear rubber boots. The 
women and children are unable to get out to gather the eggs and to see after the 
poultry. Muddy feet track up the house walks and floors. 

Alleyways between buildings are built of concrete similar to driveways with 
this exception — they are made dish-shaped to the same extent that the driveway 
is crowned. This carries the roof water away from the buildings instead of letting 
it soak in around the foundation walls. 



41 




Carriage Washing Floors 

Nothing will take the sticky mud off the wheels and body of a rig except water. 
People have at times tried to remove this mud by scraping, but have found that 
after the mud has once dried a large amount of the varnish comes off with it and 
the "looks" of the carriage is ruined. 

Convenience in washing means that the wagon is pulled just outside of the 
barn and quite near the pump or other source of water supply. All of the carriages 
are washed in exactly this same spot, and, as this is done day after day the washing 
place very shortly becomes nothing more nor less than a mud hole. To avoid this 
a concrete floor should be built. 

This floor should be of the size to take not only the wheels of the rig but the 
shafts or tongue as well. Unlike feeding and other floors, this floor is built with 
a slope toward the center, with a catch basin under the middle, from which a 
drain leads. Thus all of the water, together with the mud coming off the wagon, 
flows into the basin. This basin should be protected with a grating, with holes in 
same not less than 34 of an inch. This grating should be removable so that the mud, 
which is bound to flow into the basin, can be removed. A pipe less than 6 inches 
should not be used to connect this basin up with a sewer or ditch outlet. This will 
prevent the stoppage of the drain for many years. A slope from the edges of the 
floor to the drain of yi of an inch to the foot should be made. To lay the floor 
proceed exactly as described in "Sidewalks," and, as the floor is exposed to the 
weather, contraction joints must be provided, as in Feeding Floors. 

After the floor is finished and while the concrete is yet soft, make grooves in 
it, running from the basin to the edges of the floor. This can be done by taking a 
V-shaped strip of wood and driving it into the concrete at regular intervals by 
means of a tamper. This strip of wood should be thoroughly greased so that it 
may be removed without having the concrete stick to its surface. 



42 




Feeding Floors and Barnyard Pavements 

The saving principle of feeding floors has long been recognized by successful 
breeders and feeders of live stock. The trouble, heretofore, has been to obtain an 
entirely satisfactory material for floor construction. 

Disadvantages of Wooden Floors 

Wooden floors kept the feed out of the mud and dust and not only saved every 
particle of grain but also prevented wheezing coughs and otherwise temporarily 
improved the health of the animal. However, in a short time, the best wooden 
floors rotted out and became infected with disease germs. Often floors had to be 
burned to free the farm of hog cholera. 

Advantages of Concrete 

In concrete the farmer and ranchman have found an ideal floor material. 
Such floors not only effect a saving in feed, a shortening in the time of fattening 
and a decrease in labor, but also afford perfect protection to the health of the animal. 
Concrete floors do not soak up water and therefore cannot become infected with 
disease germs. Their surfaces can be easily cleaned and thoroughly disinfected 
with oils and dips. Rats cannot nest under them. Careful tests have shown that 
concrete floors, through the saving of grain and manure alone, pay for themselves 
in the short period of one year. 

How to Build Feeding Floors 

Feeding floors are merely several sidewalks laid side by side, and the same 
general rules of construction (given under Sidewalks, page 28) apply to them. 
Choose a site in the lot where the ground is slightly sloping, well drained and wind 
protected, and convenient to feed and water. 



43 



Drainage Foundation 

Excavate to a depth of 12 inches for the drainage foundation, and around the 
outside edges of the entire floor dig a trench 12 inches wide and 18 inches deep. 
(This trench, filled with concrete, prevents hog wallows from undermining the floor 
and keeps the rats from nesting under it.) Fill all of this space (except the trench) 
to the natural ground level with well tamped coarse gravel, crushed rock, tile culls 
or brickbats. This fill forms the drainage foundation as described for sidewalks. 

Grading the Floor 

The floor must be graded or sloped so that water will not collect on it in the 
winter and so that the manure washings may be caught by the gutters and run to 
the water-tight concrete manure pit. (To shape the gutter, make a mold or 
templet by rounding the corners on the flat side of a 6-foot length of a 4 by 6-inch 
timber.) A gentle slope, toward the low corner, of Y /i of an inch for each foot of 
length or width is sufficient. This is secured by the use of a heavy grade stake at 
each corner of the floor, a straight-edge or a grade line, and a spirit level. 

It is an advantage to have a feeding floor its full thickness above ground. 
Make light floors 4 inches and floors subject to heavy loads 6 inches thick. For the 
forms use 2 -inch lumber of a width equal to the floor thickness. Begin on a low 
side of the floor. Mark the grade height on each corner stake and set the forms to 
a grade cord stretched from stake to stake. Use only good materials and mix the 
concrete 1 : 2Y2 : 5 according to direction on page 15. 

Placing the Concrete 

Always begin placing the concrete on the low side of the floor, so that the rain 
from sudden showers will not run from the hard onto the newly placed concrete. 
Fill the trench and the slab section of the forms with concrete. Bring the surface 
to grade by drawing over it a straight edge with its ends on the opposite forms or 
with one end on the form and the other on the finished concrete. Four inches in 
from the edge, on each of the low sides, temporarily embed the rounded 4 by 6-inch 




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y-^k 


r/7Z7/; 


. \ 


i 





r 



gutter mold and tamp it down until its square top is even with the surface of the 
slab section of the floor. Remove the mold, finish with a wooden float and cure 
the floor as described on pages 31-34. Connect the gutters with the manure pit 
by means of a trough, another gutter, or by large drain tile laid underground. 

On the next page is given an itemized bill of materials necessary for a 6-inch 
floor 24 by 36 feet, amply large to accommodate 50 hogs. 



44 




Materials Required 

Crushed rock or screened gravel, 20 cubic yards @ $1.10 $22 .00 

Sand, 10 cubic yards @ $1.00 10.00 

Portland cement, 25^ barrels @ $2.50 70.00 

$102.00 

Mixing the concrete by hand, 5 men can usually finish this floor in two days. 
Depending upon the price of labor and materials and the thickness of the concrete, 
the floor will cost 6 to 12 cents for each square foot of surface. 

Manure Pits and Cisterns 

For restoring the fertility of the fields, there is nothing better than barnyard 
manure. By the ordinary methods of piling it on the ground or storing it in wooden 
pens, from 30 to 50 per cent, of the manure's strength is wasted. This loss is 
brought about in two ways: 

First — By "leaching" or washing out, due to heavy rains. 

Second— By heating or "firing," caused by lack of sufficient moisture. 

Since concrete pits are waterproof, manure can be kept in them as moist as 
necessary. Moreover, with concrete pits the supply of manure is increased, as 
all the liquid manure, from the gutters of the barns, barnyard pavements and 
feeding floors, is saved. 

How to Build 

Locate the manure pit handy to the barn and so as to catch the manure 
from the outside floors. Two pits may be better than one. Excavate the hole 
to the desired size and depth. (Manure pits are seldom over 4 feet deep.) Dig a 
sump hole 3 feet square and 2 feet deep at one corner of the pit. Slope the 
floor toward this hole, from which a pump will draw the liquid manure. Frame 
forms of 1 -inch siding on 2 by 4-inch studding spaced 2 feet, so as to mold a wall 
8 inches thick. If the dirt sides stand firm, they will serve for the outside form 



45 




and nothing but an inside form will be required. Mix the concrete 1:2:4 
(see page 11). Lay the floor so that it will be one solid piece 6 inches thick. No 
contraction joints will be necessary. Without delay, set up the forms, brace them 
firmly and fill them with concrete as directed under Dipping Vats, pages 76-80. If 
a very large pit is needed, build it with sloping concrete ends sufficiently wide 
to accommodate a manure spreader. Let the inclines be gentle, and, to give the 
horses a firm footing, embed iron cleats every 18 inches in the slopes, the same as 
for dipping tanks. Cisterns for liquid manure only, may be made like ordinary 
Cisterns, page 68. However, the solid manure rots more quickly and is better 
for the fields if both solids and liquids are kept in the same pit. An ordinary pump, 
with a pipe leading to the sump hole, covered with a grating, is a convenient means 
of removing the liquid. Liquid manure is especially good for the vegetable and 
flower garden, since it contains no weed seed. Cover the pits or keep the manure 
well soaked with water, so as to remove the principal breeding places of the house 
and barn fly. 

The manure pit shown in the photograph is located in the side of a little hill. 
It is 21 feet long, 14 feet wide, 10 feet deep on the hillside and 6 feet deep on the 
low side. The bottom is 6 inches and the walls 8 inches thick. Four men built 
the pit in two days. 

Materials Required 

Screened gravel or crushed rock 17 cubic yards at $1.10. . . . $18.70 

Sand 8 H> cubic yards at $1.00. . . 8.50 

Portland cement 30 barrels at $2.50 75-00 

$102.20 

The Value of Manure Pits 

Rotten manure not only enriches the ground, but also increases the water- 
holding capacity of the soil. One load of well rotted manure from a concrete pit 
is worth two loads of manure as ordinarily stored. 



40 




Concrete Barnyards 



The advantages of concrete feeding floors so appealed to the farmers who first 
built them that they enlarged the floors until their entire barnyards were surfaced 
with concrete. 

It is no uncommon sight in the spring and winter to see an earthen barn lot so 
deep with mud that animals go thirsty rather than attempt a trip to the water 
trough. 

The effect is bad on all kinds of livestock, especially on fattening animals and 
dairy cattle. "Feeders" must have an abundance of water to fatten quickly. 
Insufficient water cuts down the quantity of milk given by dairy cows. Lack of 
enough exercise further decreases the yield. An occasional trip through this mud 
to the trough, so cakes the cow's udders with dirt that the milker wastes valuable 
time in washing them — and they must be washed, if one would have clean, whole- 
some milk. Continual tracking through the mud not only makes more currying, 
but often produces that irritation on horses' legs known as "scratches." Suddenly 
frozen, such an earthen lot is so rough that it is impassable. Moreover, the old 
barnyard — with its surface worked up year after year — becomes a storage place, 
which carries over the disease germs from one season to another. The "droppings " 
are entirely lost, and, mixed with the earth, tend to make the lot muddier the follow- 
ing year. To keep up the fertility of the soil, all the manure produced on a farm 
should be saved and returned to the fields. 

Concrete Floors Increase Profits 

A concrete barnyard makes a fine exercise lot in all kinds of weather and always 
affords a dry spot for the animal's bed. Every shower washes the surface clean and 
flushes the droppings into the manure pits. Concrete yards lighten the work of the 
housewife, as there is no mud to be tracked on the walks and kitchen floor. The use 
of rubber boots is unnecessary. On concrete floors not a particle of grain need be 



47 




wasted. The way to the water trough is always dry, smooth and passable. Con- 
crete floors promote and protect the health of farm animals and increase the profits 
of farming, stock raising and dairying. 

Construction 

The construction of concrete barnyards is exactly like that of Feeding Floors, 
P a g e 43 > except that the work is on a larger scale. Often the entire lot is not paved 
in one season, but from year to year as the farmer has time. In excavating for the 
drainage foundation (see Sidewalks, page 29), be careful to remove all manure 
and straw which may be tramped into the ground and which may be so solid as to 
resemble earth. In time any kind of manure decays, shrinks, causes the floor to 
settle and forms water and ice pockets on its surface. Dig the trench for the foun- 
dation apron as for Feeding Floors — there is no material so rat-proof as concrete. 

With the drainage foundation ready, set the forms in the manner described for 
Sidewalks. Even if the whole lot is not to be paved at one time, plan the grading 
for the entire barnyard so that the completed pavement may have perfect surface 
drainage. Build and cure the pavement and make provision for saving the manure 
the same as for concrete Feeding Floors. Do not be too particular about giving 
the surface a smooth finish — a rougher finish affords the animals a better footing. 
The cost per square foot is no more than that of feeding floors — the investment 
yields a greater profit. 

Feeding Troughs, Racks and Mangers 

With a progressive farmer, the health of his livestock is second in importance 
only to that of his family. Concrete is a great factor in promoting and preserving 
health. With concrete troughs, animals are seldom "off their feed": there are no 
slivers to stick into their gums. Even with wet feed, concrete troughs are never sour. 

Concrete does no1 rot and become infested with disease germs. Such troughs 
and mangers can be thoroughly disinfected without injuring them. 



48 



Troughs for Horses, Cattle, and Sheep 

In general, the method of constructing feeding troughs and mangers for horses 
and cattle is practically the same as for Watering Troughs and Tanks, page 74. 
An outdoor trough, suitable for feeding grain or silage to cattle and horses, is shown 
on page 48. (However, most farmers will prefer not to locate a feeding trough in a 
fence corner.) This trough is 10 feet long and 2 feet 2 inches wide, outside measure- 
ments. The bottom is 4 inches thick as also are the side and end walls at the top, 
but these walls slope on the inside to a thickness of 6 inches at the bottom. This 
extra thickness makes not only a stronger feeding trough, but also one more easily 
cleaned out. The entire trough is reinforced with heavy woven wire fencing laid 
within 1 inch of the bottom and the same distance from the inside face of the side 
walls. The trough is held 1 foot 4 inches above ground by concrete benches, 
2 feet 2 inches wide, 1 foot thick, and extending 3 feet below the ground or feeding 
floor surface. 

In locating troughs, follow the same principles laid down under Feeding 
Floors. Dig the trenches for the concrete supports and carry the concrete 
(mixed 1 : 2 : 4) to the necessary height by means of open box forms similar to 
the one shown on page 36. Use a spirit level to get the tops of these supports even. 
Immediately set the outside trough form, previously made with openings in the 
bottom board, to match the concrete supports. Provide a 2-inch drain hole, 
corked with a greased, tapering wooden plug long enough to extend through the 
concrete. Place 1 inch of concrete over the bottom, lay the heavy woven wire 
fencing so that it will extend up into the side walls. Tamp in the bottom the 
remaining 3 inches of concrete. Finish this concrete with a steel trowel. At 
once set in the sloping inside mold, built as one piece and without a bottom. 
Fill the space between the inside and outside forms with wet concrete. After the 
concrete is hard * ^ough to bear considerable pressure of the thumb (usually 
five to seven hours), carefully remove the inside mold. No painting with neat 
cement (cement mixed with water) or plastering will be needed if the inside form 
is smooth. Do not take down the outside forms for two weeks. To make this 
same trough of suitable height for small calves or sheep, place around it a fill of 
gravel of the necessary depth. Two men can build such a trough in less than a 
day. 

Materials Required 

Crushed rock or screened gravel 1 cubic yard at $1.10 . . . .$1.10 

Sand Yz cubic yard at $1 .00 ... .50 

Portland cement 1 % barrels at $2.50 3.75 

$5-35 



Feeding Troughs 
for Hogs 

Feeding troughs for hogs are 
usually built as a part of the feed- 
ing floor, according to the plan 
shown, and similar to Watering 
Troughs, page 74. 




ti\o 



49 





A Fire-protected 
Feed Cooker 

Concrete is a first aid to the 
farmer in preventing fires. 

The photographs shown here 
are of a wooden building in which 
a feed cooker for hogs and poultry 
is installed. 

Discovery of a fire in the 
building a few years ago led this 
farmer to thoroughly protect his 
building by surrounding his cooker 
with that most fireproof material 
—concrete. 

The old wooden floor was 
first torn out, a fill of coarse gravel 
tamped in, and a 5-inch floor of 
concrete laid on top, mixed 
1 : 2Y2 '• 5- Immediately under 
and around the cooker the floor 
was dropped down 8 inches to pre- 
vent chance sparks from blowing 
about. 

At the back of the cooker, on 
the 2 by 4-inch studding, heavy 



50 




m 



woven wire was securely fastened, and by temporarily placing a wooden wall 4 
inches in front, to act as a form, an 8-inch concrete wall was built. This wall 
was made 8 feet wide and 5 feet high. The foundation for the wall extends 3 
feet below the floor level. 

On the top of this wall rests the chimney. The chimney is 12 by 14 inches on 
the outside, with a single flue 8 inches round, and is 10 feet high. This height is 
sufficient to clear the roof. For the inside form 8-inch sewer pipe was used and 
left in place (stovepipe or drain tile could also be used). Ordinary box forms were 
used for the outside forms, made as described on page 36. 

The chimney was reinforced with a ^-inch rod running from top to bottom in 
each corner, 1% inches from the edge. The lower ends of these rods are firmly 
embedded in the concrete wall on which the chimney rests. 

As this improvement was made by the farm hands, the cost of the floor was 
only 5 cents a square foot, while the wall and chimney cost $5.00. 

Not only has that dread of fire which keeps many a man awake at night been 
overcome, but the whole feed cooker house can be kept in a most cleanly condition 
at all times. 

Rats, the greatest pest known to the farmer, are driven away. These animals 
cannot nest in concrete. 



51 




Hog Wallows — Automatic Dipping Tanks 

A wallow is as necessary for a hog as a bath -tub is for a human being. A 
clean bath benefits the health of a hog, especially if the wallow is filled with a 
dipping solution. This combination not only saves the lives of fat hogs on hot 
days, but also aids greatly in preventing cholera. See Dipping Tanks, page 76. 

Locate the wallow in a convenient place near the water supply. A level, well 
drained spot, where the mud will not wash into it, is best. (The wallow shown in 
the photograph is in the hog house, and is a large dish in the concrete floor.) Make 
the wallow 8 by 12-feet. Dig out the hole with straight sides to the depth of 2 
feet 2 inches. Lay a drainage foundation 10 inches thick — see Sidewalks, page 
29. Set a 10-inch board around the outside of the hole to keep the dirt from 
crumbling in on the concrete. 

Mix the concrete 1:2:4 and place a 6-inch floor in the hole. As the concrete 
is laid, embed woven wire in it 1 inch from the bottom. Have the concrete for the 
side walls fairly dry and tamp it to the shape and dimensions — 4 inches thick at the 
top and 10 inches at the floor line. The sloping sides make cleaning easy. Keep 
all animals away from the wallow for two weeks. Three men built this wallow 
easily in one day. 

Materials Required 

Screened gravel or crushed rock 2^ cubic yards @ $1.10. . . $2.75 

Sand 1 Y± cubic yards @ $1.00. . . 1.25 

Portland cement 4^ barrels @ $2.50 11.25 

$15.25 



52 




A Corn Crib Floor of Concrete 

Rats love grain; and therefore the corn crib is usually the rat headquarters 
of the farm. By building corn cribs and granary floors of concrete the farmer 
takes a long step toward rat extermination. 

Lay out the building: for the foundation wall, dig a trench 12 inches wide and 
from 2 to 3 feet below ground level. Set box forms, so as to bring the surface of 
the finished foundation and floor 1^2 to 2 feet above ground level, according to 
the height of the "drag" conveyor used by local corn-shellers. 

As the floor will only be 6 inches thick, fill in between the foundation walls 
with gravel to within a distance of 6 inches of top of forms. Soak this fill thor- 
oughly, and tamp and roll it well, before placing concrete on top. 

Mix concrete (1 : 2 -.4) and fill the foundation forms. Beginning at one end 
of the building, lay the concrete floor in sections 4 feet wide, and continue until the 
entire floor is placed. 

In order to fasten the wooden sill for the granary uprights to the concrete 
floor, insert ^-inch bolts heads down or strap irons bent like capital Z's at the 
necessary points in the green concrete of foundation. The bolts are long enough 
to pass through holes in the sill 
and to receive nuts and washers. 
The straps are long enough to be 
spiked to the uprights. 

Finish the surface of the floor 
with a steel trowel, so as to render 
scooping of the grain an easy 
matter. 

Approximate cost per square 
foot of floor surface, 12 cents. 




53 




Concrete Barn Floors 

Investigations of the Department of Agriculture have disclosed the fact that 
many cases of typhoid fever and malaria, often considered unaccountable in their 
origin, are the result of the germs being carried by the house-fly. Screens, fly- 
paper, and poisons are all very well, in a small way, but to free the place of flies 
means getting rid of the conditions which produce them. Leaving out the manure 
pile (see Manure Pits, page 456), the favorite breeding-place of flies is the foul 
floors of the cow and horse barns. The barn can be almost entirely rid of flies by 
building floors and manure pits of concrete. 

The Advantages of Concrete Floors 

There are no flies to make tfee horses stamp. 

Rats have no hiding-place about concrete floors. 

No other floor is as slick as a manure-soaked wooden floor. Concrete floors 
may be finished as rough or corrugated, as may be desired. 

Concrete floors do not soak up water. The liquids run into the gutters and 
thence to the manure pits. The floor may be flushed with water and kept as clean 
and odorless as a kitchen floor. 

All kinds of barn floors must be bedded down. Concrete floors are warmer 
and cleaner than any other kind, for they are always dry. Besides, heat and cold 
do not easily pass through concrete. 

Concrete Boors afford good fire protection. No fire can be started on concrete 
floors by a shiftless farm "hand" dropping cigarette stubs or matches on their 
surface. 

Good farm " hands" prefer to work where there are concrete floors: they lighten 
the labor. Concrete floors have no uneven edges to catch the scoop and to ruffle 
the temper. 



54 




Concrete in the Cow Barn 

With cleanly milk and butter producers, it is no longer a matter of floor or no 
floor; it is merely a question of which is the best floor for the cow barn. The best 
dairymen long ago decided in favor of concrete. On account of many epidemics 
of " catching " diseases, directly traceable to milk, city authorities are forcing the 
careless dairyman to decide — concrete floors are one of the requirements for 
certified milk. 

The stalls of dairy barns are arranged with the cows in the opposite rows of 
stalls standing with their heads or their heels toward each other. 

The stall plan depends entirely upon the arrangements for bringing in feed 
and removing manure. The plan below is for a barn with the cows' heads toward 
each other. If the dairyman prefers the other arrangement, the same plan can 
easily be adapted to it. A width of 8 feet 6 inches provides sufficient room for a 
manure spreader. 




■>&>* is— *{>*■ 



-*'V/*- 






wmm^ :m m^ 



55 




How to Build Dairy Barn Floors 

Consider a barn planned to have the two rows of cows facing each other. 

Remove all manure and other foreign matter together with such humps of 
earth as may be necessary to give the floor a slight slope in the direction in which 
the manure will be taken out. Begin the construction of the floors at the two 
sides of the barn so that the middle and ends may be used as working space. 

On the earthen floor, at a distance of 4^2 feet from the side walls of the barn, 
set on edge a line of 2 by 6-inch boards, extending the entire length of the building. 
Support these boards by stakes driven firmly in the ground on the side of the board 
away from the barn wall. By means of a carpenter's spirit level and a grade line, 
see that the tops of these boards have an even slope (say ^-inch per foot) toward 
the manure pit. Allowing a clear intervening space of 10 inches, set up in a similar 
way a line of 2 by 8-inch boards with the supporting stakes inside of the 10-inch 
space and with the top of this board 2 inches higher than the 6-inch board. In 
this space the drop gutter will later be constructed. 

The Alleyway 

Between the wall and the 6-inch board tamp in sufficient gravel to even off 
all irregularities in the ground surface and to allow the building of a 5-inch thickness 
of floor, sloping % inch from the wall toward the gutter. Mix the concrete 
1 : 2^2 : 5- tamp into place, and finish the surface with a wooden float and a wire 
brush. The roughened surface thus produced gives the cows a good footing. 

The Stall Floor 

With the alley finished, begin the construction of the floor of the stalls proper. 
For the average sized cow, the usual length of stall is 4 feet 8 inches from stanchion 



56 




to drop gutter and the width is 3 feet 6 inches. The stall floor should slope not 
less than Y2 inch toward the drop gutter to provide for drainage. If an adjustable 
stanchion fastener is to be used, set it in the center of the 6-inch manger wall. The 
length of the stall is* regulated by this device. For a stall 4 feet 8 inches long, 
set the outside board (2 by 12 inches) of the manger wall 5 feet 2 inches from the 
drop gutter. The top of this board will be 7 inches above the finished floor. This 
extra height provides a form for the manger 
wall. In this space, place the 5-inch floor in 
the same manner as the alleyway was laid. If 
gas-pipe stall divisions are to be used later, 
make mortises in the floor at the proper points 
by tamping the concrete around a core of the 
right size, removing the core when the concrete 
has stiffened. 



The Manger 

As soon as the floor of three stalls has been 
concreted and while the concrete is yet green, 
build the concrete manger wall upon the new 
stall floor. The projecting 7 inches of the 2 by 
12-inch board already in place serves as the 
outer wall form. "Toe nail" two 1 by 6-inch 
boards together at their edges, thus providing 
a 7-inch height for the other manger wall form 

and a bearing plate to rest on the green stall floor. Set this wall form so as to 
leave a 6-inch space for the manger wall. Cross-brace these wall forms upon 
each other and if necessary drive an occasional nail through the bearing plate 
into the new concrete. Fill the space between the forms with concrete, setting 




57 




the stanchion fasteners at the same time. Continue in the same manner until 
the stall floors are finished. If desired, the back wall of the manger may be given 
a dish shape for a swinging stanchion. 

Then commence the work on the other side of the barn, constructing the floor 
of the alleyway and stall in exactly the same manner. 

The Feedway 

With the alleys and stalls finished, begin work on the feedway. If possible, 
this should be at least 8 feet wide. 

As the bottom of the manger should be on a level with the stall floor and since 
the top of the feedway floor must be at least 8 inches above the bottom of the man- 
ger, place sufficient gravel fill (well tamped) to bring about this result. To hold 
in place the 5-inch concrete of the feedway alley floor and to provide for sloping 
front walls of the mangers, set a 2 by 10-inch board, spaced (from 'the other wall of 
the manger) 1 foot 6 inches at the bottom and 1 foot 10 inches at the top. These 
sloping walls allow all feed to be swept back into the mangers and all trash to be 
easily removed from them. Build the 5-inch floor of the feedway, crowning it to 
6 inches thick in the middle. See Sidewalks, page 31. 

Horse Barn Floors 

Concrete floors are equally as valuable for the horse barn as for the cow stable. 
The same principles govern the floor construction. Naturally there must be a few 
changes in the dimensions. Single stalls are usually 5 feet wide and 9 feet from the 
front wall of the manger to the drop gutter. 

As the gutter is generally covered with a rough cast-iron plate sunk flush with 
the concrete, carrying liquids alone, it need not be so wide and deep as for the 
dairy barn. A clear width of 10 and a depth of 3 inches are sufficient. 



58 



Concrete Mangers 

Many farmers are today building their mangers or racks of concrete. "Stump 
suckers" lose the habit when fed in concrete mangers. 

The manger is constructed along the general lines laid down for Outdoor 
Feeding Troughs, page 48. A form satisfactory for building horse barn mangers 
is shown in the photograph. The feed trough can be molded as a part of the manger 
by using a box form like an ordinary wooden feeding trough, but 6 inches wider 
and without end pieces. Saw out the manger forms so that the box will fit the 
opening. When the manger forms have been filled with concrete to the feed 
trough level, place 1 inch of concrete over the bottom of the trough form, lay in a 




strip of heavy woven wire fencing, and then place the remaining 2 inches of the 
3-inch bottom. Immediately set upon this concrete a bottomless box with end 
pieces, of a size to allow for the 4-inch manger wall and the 3-inch side walls of the 
trough. Fill both manger and trough forms and embed a 3^-inch rod in the side 
walls of the trough 1 inch from the top. Make holes in the manger wall for the 
hitching strap by inserting a 2-inch greased peg in the concrete. Imbed a i-foot 
length of 3^-inch rod in the concrete above this hole. 

Scientists have found that rats distribute more disease than any other animal. 
Recognizing the danger, state and city authorities, the world over, are spending 
vast sums of money in exterminating this pest. If rats have no nesting-place, they 
cannot stay on the farm. Rats and mice cannot find a home about concrete floors, 
nor can they climb concrete barn walls. 

In a stable floored with concrete, the .horses can rest at noontime instead of 
stamping at flies. 



59 




Farmers Build Barn Approaches of Concrete 

For purposes of drainage, concrete barns are often built on the side of a hill, 
the lower story being used for the livestock, while the second floor is used as a 
wagon house and for feed and storage. This arrangement necessitates a "barn 
approach." Originally these approaches were simply of earth, piled up in front of 
the door; and quite often the earth extended beyond the ends of the barn. 

By not allowing the approach fill to come right up to the barn, the lower 
story of the barn receives the full benefit of light and ventilation on all four 
sides. 

The concrete bridge gives a shelter for wagons and tools; while a root cellar 
may be conveniently built under the barn approach. 

Such an approach adds great- 
ly to the appearance of the barn 
and its surroundings. 

Economy of space made it 
desirable to provide a retaining 
wall to hold the earth in position 
— and concrete naturally came 
into use for the purpose. 

The earth fill already in place 
in front of the barn door should 
be cut out to the desired width 
and a trench dug along both sides 
below the ground level to a depth 
of 2Y2 or 3 feet, and 1 foot wide. 

Only outside forms are 
needed, as the earth fill in the 
barn approach acts as an inside 




60 




form. These outside forms may be made up in sections as large as desired, of 
i-inch planks, with the necessary upright studding. 

Mix concrete 1:2:4. 

Place the concrete in the foundation, erect the forms, holding these in 
position by nailing to stakes driven back of the forms in the ground. The concrete 
can be placed with greatest convenience from the top of the earth fill that forms 
the approach. In shoveling into the form, be careful that the concrete strikes the 
wood form instead of the earthen side, as concrete mixed with earth does not give 
the fullest possible strength. 

A Concrete Barn 
Foundation 

On account of convenient 
arrangement, economy of space, 
and protection to the stock, sec- 
ond story barns have become very 
popular. 

At first the use of concrete 
for the walls of the first story 
was looked upon with doubt. It 
might be damp. It might make 
a cold stable. Yet the character 
of the material so well fitted the 
use that it was tried, found en- 
tirely satisfactory, and today is 
being used for the lower story of 
thousands of barns every year. As this arrangement does not give a perfect fire 
protection to the stock, a ceiling of concrete is provided, furnishing a floor for the 







B ' 






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1 


l : M 




-Mil 




ill 
ill 


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fe.l 




mi 

l?M3 






61 




carriage house, hay loft and granary, through which rats cannot gnaw. With this 
floor of concrete, the top of a barn can burn off and the stock be perfectly safe. 

Excavate a foundation trench to a depth below the frost line, twenty inches 
wide. Fill with concrete mixed I : 2Y1 15. On this foundation erect the forms 
for the side walls, spaced in such a way as to make the wall 12 inches thick. These 
forms are made of i-inch siding, with 2 by 4-inch studs, spaced 18 inches apart. 
Fasten the forms securely at top and bottom as described in forms for "Small 
Farm Buildings," page 82. While erecting the forms, place in position frames 
for the window and door openings. These frames are removed after the concrete 
has become hard and the windows and doors placed. If the concrete extends 
above the windows, place three 3^-inch iron rods 3 inches above each opening, 
and extending 18 inches beyond its sides. Insert bent iron rods in the concrete 
around the corners, at intervals of every 2 feet of height. Having carried the 
wall to the desired height, provide for attaching the wooden superstructure to it 
by placing iron bolts every 5 feet in the concrete while it is yet soft. These 
should be placed with the head down, allowing the nut end to extend above the 
wall a sufficient distance to pass through the sill and to afford length for a nut and 
washer. 

If a concrete ceiling is to be placed over the stable, erect forms in the same way 
as for a cistern cover described on page 69. This ceiling will have to be carefully 
reinforced, and if there is any doubt about the quantity and position of this rein- 
forcing, a competent engineer should be consulted. 

Entire barns of concrete are being built in ever increasing numbers. If so 
built, the fire danger for that barn is forever removed. A barn of concrete, how- 
ever, with a wooden roof is not perfectly fireproof. If the hay catches fire in such 
a barn, the roof is burned up. 

Any one who has the ingenuity to build an entire barn of concrete can build 
a concrete roof as well. 



62 




Wind Walls and Their Importance 

To be healthy, stock need exercise — in winter as well as summer. But few 
farms are provided with an exercise lot sufficiently well protected against winter 
blasts to provide a safe exercising 
place. 

The exercise lot should be 
located on the warm side of the 
buildings. Erect the wind wall 
on the side from which the winter 
storms most often come. Prob- 
ably the most convenient way to 
build the wall will be in sections 
of 10 feet in length. The wall N 
will be 3 inches thick at top, 12 
inches thick at the base, 7 feet 
above and 3 below ground, with 
the slope side toward exercise lot. 

To securely brace the sec- 
tions of this wall, large posts 
(called buttresses) are needed. 
These posts are the full height 
of the wall and are 12 by 18 
inches square. The narrow side is 
set with the line of fence, and the 
buttresses are placed 1 1 feet apart 
from center to center. The forms 
for these buttresses are the same as 




63 




for gate posts, with the exception that a beveled 2 by- 4-inch timber is nailed ver- 
tically to the inside of each side wall of the form, 3 inches from the back board. 
This leaves a slot in the finished buttress, into which the slab sections of the wall 
are later "keyed." Through these 2 by 4's, at points 3 and 15 inches below the 
tops, bore ^6-inch holes through which ^2-inch reinforcement rods will be placed 
and allowed to project into the wall proper about 18 inches. 

Locate the points for the centers of the buttresses, the first buttress at the 
beginning of the wall. Dig a hole for each buttress 12 by 18 inches and 4 feet 
deep and erect the buttress forms. Fill the forms with wet concrete, mixed 
1 : 2 : 4. Do not forget to insert at the proper time the 3-foot lengths of 3^-inch 
rods in the ^-inch holes above mentioned. Brace the forms securely, to keep 
them in position. After the first two buttresses are in place, dig out the 1 by 
4-foot foundation trench and, over it and between the buttresses, erect the box 
forms for the slab sections, with the sloping side next to the lot. These forms are 
made of i-inch siding nailed to 2 by 4-inch studding securely braced at bottom 
and tied together by cross-pieces at the top. On the working side, add the siding 
as needed, so as to facilitate the placing of the concrete. 

Remove the side forms for buttress just before placing the forms for wall 
proper. In the center of wall, within 6 inches of the top, embed a 10-foot length 
of H-inch iron rod. After the wall is one week old, take down the wall forms, 
erect them between the next two buttresses, and proceed with the construction 
in the same manner. 

Wind walls are often made with straight sides. While this takes more con- 
crete, the saving in erection of forms probably offsets this additional cost. 

The materials required for each 10-foot section of wall and 1 buttress are two 
cubic yards crushed stone or screened gravel, 1 cubic yard sand, 12 bags of Port- 
land cement. Approximate cost, $15.00. 



64 




Concrete and the Silo 

A silo is a tank for the preservation of fodder in its green state, for feeding 
stock at times when there is no natural pasture — that is in winter and in the hot, 
dry months of summer. By the use of silos fodder is canned very much as a house- 
wife cans fruit or vegetables. 

Concrete fulfils every requirement for a first-class silo, providing the added 
advantages of being absolutely fireproof and everlasting, possessed by silos built 
of no other material. For instruction in building silos, see Bulletin No. 21 of the 
Association of American Portland Cement Manufacturers, sent free on application. 

Space does not permit us to go fully into the construction of a concrete silo 
and we can only give the requirements for a good silo, and show how concrete fills 
them all. 

Silos must be air-tight. The admission of air causes the fodder to mould, 
and the stock will not eat it. 

Air cannot leak through a concrete silo. 

Silos must be water-tight. If they are not, the juices, so necessary to keep the 
fodder green, will leak out, and the fodder spoils. 



65 




Concrete, properly mixed, is water-tight. 

Silos must be smooth on the inside. A silo with a rough inside surface, 
catches the cornstalks, and prevents proper packing. 

Concrete can be made so smooth that many firms building silos of other 
materials finish the inside with a coat of cement and sand. 

The fodder lasts better if kept at an even temperature. Concrete does not 
conduct heat or cold. It keeps the heat in the fodder in winter, and keeps the heat 
out of the fodder in summer. Nature provides the fodder with the proper amount 
of heat to preserve it perfectly. 

Rats nesting in the silage ruin it. 

Concrete is the greatest rat-proof material known. 

In addition to these reasons, concrete silos are not attacked by the juices com- 
ing from the fodder. They do not rot by alternate wetting and drying. 

Fire, that greatest of farm scourges, cannot destroy the crop if stored in a 
concrete silo. A farmer may rebuild a barn, but the crops lost through the burning 
of the building are lost forever. 



66 




Sanitary Water Supply 



As the laws of health become better understood, greater precautions are taken 
to prevent sickness. For years all evidence has been pointing to drinking water as 
a common source of most diseases and the principal means of spreading sickness. 
Every well, spring and cistern, open to surface water or walled and covered with 
materials through which surface water can seep, is liable to contain disease germs. 
Concrete walls and covers are water-tight: they afford perfect protection for both 
man and beast. 

How to Protect Wells 

Many bored and dug wells, sunk years ago, afford such excellent water that 
their owners prefer to keep them. This is often made possible by the use of 
concrete. Remove the brick of the wall down to dense clay through which water 
will not run, usually not more than 6 feet. If the earthen wall stands firm, only 
one form, fitting inside the brick wall, is needed. Make this form of narrow 
flooring securely fastened on the inside to wagon tires or to curved wooden tem- 
plates, and long enough to extend 2 feet below the point to which the brick are 
to be removed and 4 inches above the ground level. If the earthen wall shows 
signs of crumbling, before taking out the brick, dig back the ground to the necessary 
depth and use an outside form. Lower the forms into place and fill them with 
1:2:4 concrete. In placing the concrete follow the directions given under 
Underground Cisterns, page 68. 

The steel casing for driven well must end below the frost line so as to keep 
the underground connecting pipes from freezing. This construction exposes the 
house supply to the dangers of surface water. Concrete walls or housings are the 
only means of protection. Make the forms and build the housing according to the 
rules laid down for Underground Cisterns, pages 68-70. The housing shown 



67 




in the photograph is 5 by 6 feet by 4 feet deep, sufficiently roomy for inspecting, 
adjusting and repairing pipe connections. The walls and floor are of 1:2:4 
concrete 6 inches thick. One-half inch bolts project 2Y2 inches above the walls 
for fastening the wooden cover. A 4-inch removable cover of concrete, molded 
in two pieces, makes a more sanitary covering. The service pipes were laid in 
4-inch drain tile slightly above the floor of the housing. A tile of the same size, 
laid on a grade, carries away all the leakage of the fittings. Two men built the 
housing in one day. 

Materials Required 

Screened gravel or crushed rock 3 cubic yards at $1.10 $3.30 

Sand 1^2 cubic yards at $1.00. . . 1.50 

Portland cement 5^ barrels at $2.50 ........ 13.75 

$18.55 

Well platforms are made like cistern covers (see page 69) except that they 
are not molded fixed in place, but loose and removable, so that the well can be 
cleaned at any time. Concrete well covers keep mice and frogs out of the well. 
Even scrub water cannot seep in. 



Underground Cisterns and Cistern Platforms 

Underground cisterns are useless if they leak. In dry weather they are 
empty, and at other times the ground water seeps in and makes the "soft" water as 
"hard" as that from the well. Concrete cisterns have no joints to leak: they are 
built in one solid piece. 



68 




In placing the cistern, select a site convenient to the principal down-spout 
and the kitchen. Do not forget to make allowance for 8-inch walls in laying out 
the plan. If the ground in which the pit is dug is sufficiently firm to stand alone, 
no outside form will be needed. 
Otherwise the hole must be dug 
large enough to receive an out- 
side form built similar to the 
inside one. Make the inside 
form of i -inch boards on 2 by 
4-inch studding so that the 
siding will be toward the earth 
walls. Mix the concrete 1 :2 14 
and lay a 6-inch floor on the 
earth bottom. Immediately set 
the wall forms on all sides. In 

filling the wall space, be careful not to shovel the concrete against the earthen 
wall: dirt in concrete is liable to make a leaky wall. 

After the concrete side walls have been brought to ground level, set a 5-inch 
board on edge around the outside of the cistern, so as to hold the concrete for the 
platform. Saw off the uprights of the inside form 6 inches below the finished top 
of the concrete cover, and nail 2 by 4-inch floor joists even with their tops. Floor 
the joists with i-inch boards. Braces, to keep the wooden platform from sagging, 
may be placed down the middle of the cistern as shown in the drawing. To provide 
for a manhole opening, build a bottomless box 5 inches deep, 2 feet square at the 
top and 18 inches square at the bottom — outside measurements, — or have the 
tinsmith make a round bottomless tin form 5 inches deep, 2 feet in diameter at 
the top and 18 inches at the bottom, just like a large dishpan without a bottom. 
Begin at one side of the platform, tamp in \ x /i inches of concrete, and upon it 
lay heavy woven wire fencing. Allow the edges of the wire to extend within 
I inch of the outside lines of the platform. Bring the platform to its full thickness 

by immediately placing the remaining 3^ inches of 
concrete. Work rapidly and do not stop for any 
reason until the cistern cover is completed. As the 
" " I 771 work progresses, finish the surface with a wooden 

float. Grease the manhole frame and place it where 
the opening is desired. Strengthen the floor around 
the manhole opening by laying four short 3^-inch 
iron rods, placed criss-cross, 2 inches from the bottom 
of the slab and the same distance back from the edges 
of the hole. If the tin form is used, the manhole 
cover may be cast at the same time as the remainder 
of the floor. Reinforce the cover with woven wire 
and also with four short lengths of 3^-inch rods laid 
in the form of a square. Have on hand an old bridle 
bit or hitching post ring, which will serve as a lifting- 
In placing the ring in position, provide it with a 



^s: 



«i 



<*k* 



ring for the concrete cover, 
knob of twisted wire, or with a nut and large washer, to fix it firmly in the concrete. 
If the wooden manhole form is used, carefully remove it after 5 hours. After 
3 days build the manhole cover the same as for the tin form, with this important 



69 



exception — place heavy paper, cardboard or leather around the edge of the 
opening to prevent the fresh concrete of the cover from sticking to it. Set bolts 
for a pump base according to directions given for Gasoline Engine Bases, 
pp. 87, 88. The necessary openings for down spouts and for removing water may 
be made by embedding tile, of the proper diameter and length, in the concrete 
platform or side walls. 

When the platform is two weeks old, remove the manhole cover, bore a hole in 

the wooden floor, saw an opening 
descend and loosen the roof form, 
passing it out through the man- 
hole. 

If the cistern water is to be 
used for cooking and drinking, 
provide a filter on the outside of 
the cistern wall. Construct the 
filter similar to the cistern, of 
dimensions 4 by 3 feet and 4 feet 
deep. While building the cistern 
wall, lay an 8-inch tile through it, 
at the proper height to connect 
with an opening of the same size 
in the filter wall at its floor, and 
place a removable screen of 34- 
inch mesh over the opening. Fill 
in 2 feet of coarse charcoal. Cover 
the charcoal with 1 foot of sand 
and gravel. Lead the water from 
the roof into the top of the filter. Cover the filter with a loose concrete slab. 

Four men built a cistern 8 feet square and 8 feet deep, with a 6-inch floor and 
a 5-inch platform, in two days. The cistern holds 122 barrels of 31 3^ gallons. 

Materials Required 

Screened gravel or crushed rock 8 cubic yards at $1.10. . . . $8.80 

Sand 4 cubic yards at $1.00. .. . 4.00 

Portland cement 13 barrels at $2.50 ......... 32.50 

$45.30 
"Soft" water is not only better for the bath, but also makes the washing easier 
and the clothes whiter. Mischievous children cannot remove concrete manhole 
covers. 

Making Spring Water Sanitary 

To the planter and stockman, a flowing spring is worth a great deal of money. 
Properly cared for, it will afford cold, sweet water for the house, the dairy, and the 
watering tanks. Improperly protected, it is not merely a mud hole, a nuisance to 
the milker of dairy cows, but is too frequently the cause of disease. 

To improve a spring, first open up the channel and drain out all the water 
possible. Clean out the spring so as to increase its flow. Lay the necessary feed 
pipes to the house and barn. Wall up the well of the spring with concrete blocks, 




70 




laid without mortar to a point just above the inflow streams of the spring. Com- 
plete the walls with blocks laid in I : 2 cement-sand mortar, or, using wooden forms, 
with a 6-inch solid wall of 1 : 2 : 4 concrete. Carry these walls high enough to 
keep surface water out of the spring well. If the spring is to be used as a drinking 
tank for stock, make the walls equal to the usual depth of such tanks. (See 
Watering Troughs and Tanks, page 74.) Lay a 4-inch floor of 1 : 2^ : 5 
concrete (on a drainage foundation) 10 feet around the field spring on all sides. 

At the edges of the floor, turn down a concrete "apron" or foundation, 2 feet 
into the ground, the same as for Feeding Floors, page 43. This prevents the 
frost from getting under the floor and cracking it. 

Make provision for the overflow at a point where it can be carried to the 
stream by a gutter in the floor, or by a drain tile under it. 

With such improvement, since there is no mud, the stock cannot mire and 
the udders of the dairy cows are always clean. 

To keep rats and rabbits out of springs from which the water is drawn for 
house use, provide a concrete cover like that described for Underground Cis- 
terns, page 69. For small springs this cover is often made removable as shown in 
the photograph on page 73. 




71 




New Style Cistern Built on Top of Ground 

The photograph shows a cistern, 6 by 6 by 12 feet, inside dimensions, with 
8-inch walls, 6-inch floor, and 4-inch roof. 

Dig a pit 12 inches deep, and of the size of cistern desired. Cover the bottom 
with a well-tamped fill of gravel to a depth of 6 inches. Mix concrete 1:2:4 and 
place it to a depth of 2 inches over the surface of the fill. On top of this lay sec- 
tions of heavy woven wire fencing. This wire should be laid in such a way as to 
extend 6 inches beyond the outside edge of foundation — the ends being bent up, 
so as to stand upright, 3 inches back from the edge of the concrete flooring already 
placed. Immediately lay the remaining 4 inches of concrete floor. Give the sur- 
face a finish with a wooden float to within 6 inches of edges. 

Without delay, set the forms, made up in the required sections, resting the 
inside form on the concrete floor and the outside form on the ground. Place the 
inside form first. After setting the inside form, place woven fence wire, supporting 
it against the inside form by means of staples driven lightly into the form and 
holding the wire 4 inches away from it. Care should be taken in placing the 
concrete that the wire is kept near the outside of the concrete wall. This rein- 
forcement is carried 1 foot beyond top of wall. The projecting wire mesh will 
later be used to tie the concrete roof to the side walls. The timber required for 
the forms will be i-inch siding and 2 by 4 uprights, spaced every 18 inches. 

In placing the concrete in the forms, it will be easier to leave off the two 
top feet of planking of outside form until the concrete reaches its level. Then 
add this planking and fill the two top feet. The concrete will probably have to be 
passed up to a man on top by means of buckets. 

The luxury of soft water for the bath, and its advantages for laundry purposes, 
are understood better by farmers than by their city cousins. Cisterns were origin- 
ally built in the ground, but a thinking farmer used concrete to build a cistern on 



72 




top of the ground, no doubt taking the idea from the old-fashioned rain barrel. 
While it requires more forms and more reinforcement than a cistern built in the 
ground, yet the large cost of digging a deep hole is saved. As the water is piped 
to the house, direct water pressure is provided, thereby giving the farm-house all 
the advantages of a city water system. 

Build a wooden platform inside the cistern, in the same manner as directed 
in Underground Cisterns, page 69. The materials required for the concrete are 
10 yards of crushed rock or screened gravel, 5 yards of sand, and 17 barrels of 
Portland cement. 




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73 




Watering Troughs and Tanks 

All thrifty farmers are building their tanks and troughs of concrete. Such 
troughs never rot, rust, or leak. 

By using concrete, tanks of any size and shape can be made. 



Watering Tank for Horses and Cattle 

Most stockmen prefer to build their watering tanks oblong in shape. Having 
decided upon the size, locate the tank in a hand}-, well drained, wind-sheltered 
place. 

To build a tank like the one shown in the picture, lay out the trough 5 by 
16 feet. Make an excavation for a drainage foundation as directed under Side- 
walks, page 29. Around the outside dig a 10-inch trench 2 feet 6 inches deep. 
Lay all in-flow and over-flow pipes (not less than \Y 2 inches in diameter) so that 
the ends, fitted for connections, will be even with the finished bottom of the tank. 

Build the forms and have the necessary reinforcing on hand before mixing 
any concrete. The tank is 5 by 16 feet by 2^ feet deep with an 8-inch bottom. 
The walls are 5 inches thick at the top and 10 inches at the bottom. (The sloping 
face allows the ice to slip up the sides instead of pushing directly against them.) 
Consequently the inside forms at the bottom are 5 inches shorter at each end 
than at the top. 

The forms are nothing more than shell boxes made from odd lengths of i-inch 
siding nailed to 2 by 4-inch studding spaced not more than 2 feet apart. The 
sides of the forms may be made separate and put together in place; or, if there is 
sufficient help, each form may be entirely completed and set up as one piece. The 
forms are held in position by 2 by 4-inch liners at top and bottom, and if necessary 
by sloping braces nailed to stakes driven in the ground. Cut strips of heavy woven 
wire fencing sufficiently long to cover the bottom and to project up into the walls. 



74 




With the forms ready, mix a batch of i : 2 : 4 concrete. Beginning at one 
end, fill the trench, and upon the gravel foundation place a 2-inch layer of concrete 
in width slightly greater than a width of wire. Upon this concrete lay a section 
of wire. Tamp in the remaining 6 inches of concrete and bring up the extra 
length of the wire so that the ends will project up into the future side walls. Con- 
tinue laying the concrete in sections until the bottom is completed. Finish the 
surface with a wooden float. 

Immediately set the wall forms in place, and set them level by using a car- 
penter's level. Fill the wall space with concrete. Half way up the side and 1 
inch from the outside, lay a 3^2-inch iron rod entirely around the tank. Again 
2 inches from the top, and 1 inch from both inner and outer edges, lay two rods 
of the same size. If a tank cover is desired, set bolts in the concrete as directed 
under Corn Crib Floors, page 53. 

To prevent mud holes, surround the tank with a concrete floor. (See Feeding 
Floors, page 43.) Protect the green tank from drying out according to instruc- 
tions under Sidewalks, pages 28-34. 



Materials Required 

Crushed rock or screened gravel, 7 cubic yards at $1.10. 

Sand, 33^2 cubic yards at 1.00. 

Portland cement, n^ barrels, at 2.50. 



Watering Troughs for Hogs 



$7-70 

3.50 

28.75 

$39-95 



Troughs for hogs are built in two styles — wedge-shaped, like the feed trough 
shown on page 49, or like troughs for cattle except smaller. Use short lengths of 
1 -inch pipe crosswise to keep the hogs out of the trough. Set bolts, properly spaced, 
in the soft concrete sides, so that the pipes will fit between them and can be held 
firm by a strap iron over the bolts. 



75 




Dipping Vats and Tanks 

The younger generation have no remembrance of the epidemic of Texas or 
southern fever which swept over the country about forty years ago, killed thou- 
sands of cattle, and left hundreds of bankrupt fanners and ranchmen in its wake. 
Government experts found that this deadly disease is caused by ticks, which 
infest cattle in certain localities. They also discovered that the fever can be pre- 
vented by dipping the animals in chemical solutions.* 

Dipping cures not only Texas (known as "splenetic") fever, but also the lip 
and leg disease, mange, and scab or scabies of both sheep and cattle. Certain 
solutions free horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs of lice, mites, fleas, and flies. The 
only method of applying these chemicals, surely and thoroughly to all parts of 
the animal, is by giving him a plunge in a tank containing the healing liquid. 
Since the dip is the most costly part of the process, and since it must be applied 
once or twice every year, some permanent form of tank is needed^ — one that will 
not rot or rust out, leak or heave in during winter. Concrete vats, built ten 
years ago, without one cent's worth of repair, are still as good as new and are still 
giving entire satisfaction. 

There are four important points to be considered in the building of a dipping 
tank: 

First — An entering slide, steep enough to shoot the animal in, without a direct 
drop. A direct drop, the entire depth of the tank, is likely to injure the animal. 

Second — The tank must be narrow enough to prevent the animal turning 
around when once in, long enough to keep him in from one to two minutes, and 
deep enough not only to make him swim, but also that he may disappear entirely 
when he takes the plunge. 

* For free bulletins on dipping write the Agricultural Department, Bureau of Ani- 
mal Industry, Washington, D. C. 



re 




Third — The slope at the leaving end must be gentle and the footing roughened 
or cleated so that the animal may 
easily scramble to the dripping 
pens. 

Fourth — As the liquid dip is 
the most expensive part of dip- 
ping, there must be provided two 
dripping pens draining back into 
the tank. 

Select a well-drained site con- 
venient for a chute leading from 
a small, well-fenced lot or corral. 
At the narrow end of the chute 
and in line with it lay out the 
dipping tank with the entering 
slide next to the chute. 

Often the chute is built on a 
curve, so that the animals cannot 
see where they are going. 

They are generally con- 
structed with a hump in the 
floor. This prevents the animal 
from jumping into the dip, and 
gives the necessary length to the 
slide, without increasing the depth 

of the tank. Choose the proper dimensions from the diagrams and table accord- 
ing to whether the tank is to be used for horses, cattle, sheep, or hogs. 

The lengths given will keep 
the animal in the tank one minute, 
usually a sufficient time to cure 
mild forms of disease. Where a 
longer treatment is desired, most 
ranchmen, instead of building 
tanks of greater length, provide a 
drop gate working in a groove, 
as shown in the photograph, by 
means of which the animal is kept 
in the tank as long as necessary. 
Likewise, rather than build a 
separate tank for sheep and hogs, 
stockmen insert a temporary 
division fence, running the full 
length and depth of the cattle and 
horse tank. This fence should 
be solid and so spaced as to 
prevent hogs and sheep from 
turning around in the tank. In 
this way a single dipping tank 
may be used for horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. 




77 



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Dig the deep part of the hole first, and then slope the earth for the slide and 
climb. Lay the outlet drain pipe so that the top of the elbow bend will be even 
with the surface of the finished concrete bottom. Tamp back the dirt thoroughly 
about the drain tile before placing concrete. 

The side walls only will require forms. If the banks stand firm, inside forms 
alone will be needed. Make these of i-inch boards on 2 by 4-inch uprights. Mix 
the concrete 1:2:4 and lay the floor and slopes directly on the solid earth. 
No fill is necessary. The concrete for the sloping ends should be mixed fairly dry 
so that it will tamp well and stay in position without the use of forms. With 
the bottom and slopes built, lower the side wall forms into the pit. Take care to 
jar no dirt upon the concrete already placed. Space the forms properly and 
cross-brace them firmly upon each other. Fill the wall space with concrete. 

In placing this concrete, be sure that it strikes the wood form instead of the 
earthen side, as concrete mixed with earth makes a weak, leaky wall. Carry the 

walls 6 inches above the surrounding 
ground to prevent flood water from 
running into the tank. 

The entrance slope should be 
smooth to slide the animals into the 
tank without skinning them up. 
Finish this surface with a wooden 
float and steel trowel. Some ranch- 
men prefer to cover the entire slide 
with a polished steel plate, the edges 
of which are sunk into the concrete 
when the slide is built. To aid the 
animals in climbing out, embed in 
the concrete the turned-up ends of 
iron cleats bent at right angles simi- 
lar to a capital "U." Old wagon 
tires, cut in lengths not greater than 
20 inches and turned up 4 inches at 
each end, will do. Leave 1 inch 
clearance between the flat surface of 
the cleats and the concrete. Space the cleats 18 inches for horses and cattle and 
10 inches for sheep and hogs. 

At the leaving end of the tank, lay out the two dripping pens with their division 
fence on a line with the center line of the tank, so that a gate hung to this fence 
may close either pen, when it is full, and allow the animals from the tank to pass 
to the empty pen. Use concrete posts for the fences, as they will require no 
replacing. Excavate for the drainage foundation, set the posts, and build a 6-inch 
concrete floor according to the directions given under Sidewalks, page 28, ?nd 
Feeding Floors, page 43. Slope the floors, Y /i inch to each foot in length or width, 
so that the dip running off the animals will be saved and returned to the tank. 
Corrugate or groove the floor to the depth of Yi inch, every 8 inches, in one 
direction. During the construction of the floor, mold around the outside a concrete 
curb, commonly called a splashboard, 6 inches above the floor and 4 inches wide. 
Where the dip from the floor empties into the tank, place a removable wire screen 
or strainer to keep the droppings and wool tags out of the vat. Cure the floors 




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79 




and slopes according to directions under Feeding Floors, page 43. The wall 
forms may be removed after one week, but the tank should not be used until it is 

three weeks old. 

At first state and federal au- 
thorities had to force ranchmen 
to dip, but so beneficial has it 
proved that compulsion is now 
seldom necessary. Experienced 
cattle-men have found by ac- 
tual tests that dipping in- 
creases the market value of 
their steers $5 per head. The 
cost of dipping on the farm 
is only 1^ to 3 cents per 
head — in the stock yards the 
charge is 15 to 20 cents. One 
large ranchman, who lost 28 
per cent, of his herd (several 
thousand) in one winter with 
the mange, found his first 
trial of dipping so effective 
in curing this disease that 
the following winter he did 
not lose a single steer. The 
use of dips has become so 
general in the South and West 
that the Government has raised the quarantine in most sections. 




80 




The Construction of a Concrete Milk Vat 

Dig a pit to a depth of I foot 6 inches and place wooden forms in such a way 
as to provide for tank walls 6 inches thick and I foot 8 inches in height. This will 
bring the walls only 8 inches above ground level — which makes it easy to lift the 
milk cans in and out. 

Use a wet mixture of concrete, of proportions I : 2 : 4. Place as described 
on page 74; and be sure to build walls and floor at the same time. The floor 
should be 6 inches thick. 

The vat described has a par- 
tition 6 inches thick, dividing the 
tank into two chambers, each 
chamber being 6 feet 9 inches 
long. An iron grating is placed in 
the bottom of the tank to allow 
free circulation of cooling water 
around and under the milk cans. 
Arrangements must be made for 
inlets and outlets. The inlet pipe 
can be simply placed above one 
end of tank. 

The pipe rail at back of tank 
provides a convenient purchase 
when lifting heavy cans from the 
tank. 

A hole must be provided at 
the other end of tank, in the bot- 
tom, and connecting, by an iron 
pipe, with the drain tile. Into this hole a removable upright iron pipe is fitted, 







81 




the length of pipe depending on the depth of water desired for the cans. This 
allows the water to come only to the top of the pipe and provides an overflow out- 
let at the proper height. The pipe must fit tightly into the hole. 

Time required to build: — one day with three men on the job. 

Approximate cost, at current prices of materials and including labor, $16.00. 

The materials required are 2 cubic yards of crushed rock or screened gravel, 1 
cubic yard of sand, and 5 barrels of Portland cement. 



Small Farm Buildings 



Numerous small structures are required on the farm. Dog kennels, tool 
houses, coal houses, ice houses, hydraulic ram houses, smoke houses, acetylene 
gas plant houses, gasoline storage houses, milk houses and many similar buildings 
are a necessity on every well improved farm. Such structures are all of simple 
design and can be easily built of concrete. 

When once constructed of this material durability and freedom from fire are 
assured. For such buildings as milk houses built of concrete instead of wood, 
there is the added advantage of cleanliness. Modern dairying demands absolute 
cleanliness. Concrete meets this demand. 




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Milk Houses 

Milk splashed on wooden walls soaks in, causing a very disagreeable odor 
likely to taint milk stored in the vat. Concrete does not absorb milk splashed on 
it. Such walls can be kept free from tainting odors by simply washing them down. 
In concrete dairy houses, with concrete vats, the milk will keep sweet longer than 
in houses built of any other material. Dairy experts all admit that no other 
material can take the place of concrete for such purposes. 

The illustration shows a simple form of milk house with walls, floor and vat, 
all of concrete. This house is 16 feet long, 10 feet wide and 8 feet high with a 
rise to the roof peak of 5 feet. 

Location 

The milk house should be located near the barn and convenient to a clean water 
supply. Care must be taken to provide for the outflow of the water from the vat. 
This can be done by leading a line of pipe from the vat to a discharge point at a 
lower level or to the drinking troughs for the stock. 



83 



Often the water from a flowing spring can be piped several hundred feet to 
the house, providing an excellent means of keeping the milk cool and sweet. 

Foundation 
To build such a milk house as shown, dig a trench for the foundation 3 feet deep 
and 12 inches wide. Fill the trench to the ground level with 1 : 2Y2 ' 5 concrete. 
The foundation should be laid out in such a way as to extend 3 inches beyond the 
inside and 3 inches beyond the outside of the walls of the house. 

Walls 
As soon as the concrete foundation has become hard enough to support them, 
erect the wall forms. These forms consist of i-inch siding nailed to 2 by 4-inch 
studding. The studs should be spaced 2 feet apart and the i-inch sheathing is 
nailed to the sides of the studding toward the concrete. For small buildings it 
is often easier to build an entire wall form flat on the ground and then raise it into 
position. The bottoms of the studs rest on the concrete foundation and are held 
in position by strips nailed to them and extending to stakes driven firmly into the 
ground. The distance the inside and outside forms are spaced apart depends 
upon the thickness of wall desired. Sloping braces leading from the. studs to the 
ground keep the side forms from bulging and cross-cleats nailed at the top keep 
the inside and outside forms the correct distance apart. Bulging of forms can 
also be prevented by wiring them together as shown on page 23. On page 22 is a 
description of the general method of building forms. Especial care must be 
taken to hold the forms in position while placing the concrete. The studs in the 
side wall forms for this house should be cut off at the height of the walls. With 
the wall forms secured in position fill them with concrete. 

Doors and Windows 

A space must be left in the walls for the doors and windows. This is done by 
placing between the wall forms, frames or boxes without top or bottom made 
of i-inch boards. When the wall form has been filled to the level of the bottom 
of the opening a frame, the size and shape of the opening desired is secured firmly 
in place and the concrete poured around it. After the wall reaches a level 2 inches 
above the frame lay in the fresh concrete two 3^-inch iron bars. These pieces 
should be long enough to extend 8 inches beyond each side of the frame. A piece 
of old wagon tire can be used instead. 

The sill shown in the sketch can be molded by building a small box extending 
out from the side form. The concrete should be placed for the sill at the same time 
that the wall is being built. For buildings such as we have mentioned a sill is 
unnecessary. 

Finishing Top of Wall 

When the side walls have been built to the top and before the concrete has 
set, shove 3^-inch bolts 18 inches long down into it. Space these bolts 24 inches 
apart, 9 inches of the length being in the concrete. The end wall forms extend 
above the plates to the peak of the roof, and are filled to the top. While placing 
the concrete in the walls it should be continually spaded as described on page 25. 

Building the Roof 
The roof is built by nailing 2 by 4 rafters to the inside studs of the side wall 
forms, on a line 1 inch lower than the bottom of the roof. The rafters are given 



84 




85 




the pitch desired for the roof, and are securely fastened where they meet at the 
ridge. To stiffen the roof form until the concrete has become hard tie the opposite 
rafters together at the bottom (with a i-inch strip) in the form of a capital "A." 
One-inch boards are nailed on the rafters. The cornice shown in the sketch 
extending beyond the wall can be easily built by nailing a board the width of the 
cornice to the tops of the outside studs of both side and end walls. To hold the 
concrete in place as the roof is being built nail a 5-inch upright strip along the out- 
side edge of this board. Bend the bolts projecting above the walls down to within 
1 inch of the roof boards. Spread a layer of heavy woven wire fencing over the 
entire roof, allowing it to extend to the outside of the cornice. Wire the fencing 
securely to the bent bolts. Place two i^-inch steel rods near the outside of the 
cornice all the way around the roof, and fasten these securely to the woven wire 
fencing. The roof should be made 3 inches thick and the stone used for the con- 
crete should not be larger than 3^2 inch. 

Mix the concrete fairly stiff and start placing it at the cornice, working toward 
the ridge. Spread the concrete out in a thin layer and then lift the woven wire 
fencing and the two rods in the cornice so that the concrete is 1 inch thick below 
the wire. Cover the rods and wire with more concrete to a depth of 2 inches. 
When finished the roof will then be 3 inches thick, 1 inch below the wire and 2 
inches over it. Always work from the low edge of the roof and finish to the 
complete depth of 3 inches at once. Imbed a width of woven wire fencing 
lengthwise over the ridge of the roof 1 inch beneath the surface. The work must 
be carried on without interruption. The concrete must not be allowed to dry 
along an unfinished edge, as there is danger of a leak where fresh concrete is 
joined to that already hard. Tamp the concrete until moisture comes to the surface 
and smooth off the top of the roof with a wooden float and steel trowel. 

The forms must be left in place for at least a week and the concrete in the 
roof must be protected from the sun and wind while it is hardening. A method 
for doing this is described on page 26 under Sidewalks. 



86 



Floor 

When the forms have been removed from the walls and roof the floor can be 

laid. Excavate the ground to 

a depth of 4 inches below the fin- 
ished floor level. Mix and lay 
the concrete as described on 
page 31. 

The concrete milk vat should 
be built at the same time and as 
a part of the floor. See descrip- 
tion on page 82. 

Engine Base 

Engines, cream separators, 
pumps and other pieces of ma- 
chinery require solid bases. 
These bases must be permanent, 
and free from any vibration. 
A base constructed of concrete 
possesses these advantages. 

To form a base for the sup- 
port of a small engine, first exca- 
vate a pit 2 feet 4 inches deep, 
and 1 foot larger both in length 
and width than the dimensions 
of the engine base. Fill the pit 
with a mixture of concrete, 
(1 : 2Y2 : 5), and then construct 
a form which will carry the con- 
crete to a height 4 inches above 
the floor level or to the height 
desired. 

Bolts should be set in the concrete before it dries, these being sufficiently 
long to bend 4 inches at right angles, and to extend 1 foot deep into the concrete, 
with bent end down. They should be placed with the upright part surrounded by 
gas pipe of twice the diameter of the bolt, and of a length sufficient to come flush 
with the surface of the concrete. The open space formed around the bolt by 
the pipe will allow for slight errors in locating bolts, so as to meet the holes 
in the engine base. 

Keep the concrete wet for 24 
hours after placing, by sprinkling. 
After six days, set the engine, adjust 
the bolts, and fill the spaces around 
the bolts with cement mortar, 
mixed 1 part cement, 1 part sand. 
Do not use the engine until the 
concrete base is at least two weeks 
old. 





87 




Concrete Ice House 

A concrete base adds years of service to the life of a gasoline engine or cream 
separator. 

Method Applies to All Buildings 

The method just described for building a milk house applies equally well to 
any of the small houses mentioned above. It is not always necessary to build a 
peaked roof; sometimes aflat roof will answer the purpose; but the general method 




Grain Elevator Approach and Engine House 



88 




Hydraulic Ram House 

in all cases is the same. The drawings show in detail the way a door can be built 
and framed and also how the windows can be made to slide up and down. 
Advantages of Concrete 

Concrete alone possesses the necessary fireproof qualities for such buildings 
as smoke houses, where there is always great danger from fire. 

Oil lamps are becoming a thing of the past on modern farms. Acetylene and 
gasoline plants furnish a better and safer light. These plants are built either 
above or below ground. In either case concrete is the ideal material, since it is 
both fire and waterproof. 

The durability of concrete is particularly valuable for such buildings as 
hydraulic ram houses, which must always be located near streams, and ice houses, 
where there is always moisture. Wood quickly rots, but moisture has no effect 
on concrete. 

For tool houses, coal houses, and buildings subjected to rough usage, nothing 
equals concrete. 

Concrete, for small buildings, meets the three great demands of the farmer — 
cleanliness, freedom from fire, and durability. 




Concrete Cellar Steps and Hatchway 

Cellarways are particularly liable to leak and cause a damp cellar. This cannot 
happen if they are made of concrete. There are no cracks through which the 
water can come. Wooden steps last no time, particularly where heavy barrels 
and similar weighty loads are taken up and down. As wooden or brick areaways 
are always damp, the steps rot quickly, thus requiring constant renewal. Few 
things are more dangerous to limb, and even to life, than a step giving way under 

the weight of a heavy barrel 
which is being carried into the 
cellar. 

Concrete steps are safe under 
any load. 

Owing to the fact that con- 
crete can be molded into any 
desired shape, it is particularly- 
desirable for this purpose. Some 
people like steps with a low rise 
and a particularly wide tread, 
while others prefer a high rise 
and narrow tread. Concrete can 
easily be fitted to either. The 
determining feature is usually the 
space to be occupied. The door into the cellar limits the depth to which the steps 
are taken, and therefore the height of the risers; while the room the cellarway is 
to take outside the line of the wall determines the width of the tread. If possi- 
ble, the rise of each step should be from 6 to 8 inches, while the width of the 
tread should be from 9 to 12 inches. 

Note: See page 112 for Window Hatchway. 




90 




In erecting, first excavate the hole to the width of steps desired, plus one foot. 
This allows for a 6-inch wall on either side. Slope the ground from I foot back 
of where the top step is to come to I foot back of where the bottom step will be. 
To form the steps, saw out a board just as you would a "horse" for steps, and nail 
planks where the risers come, holding the two "horses" the proper distance apart. 
This is placed upside down, resting on the top and bottom, with the edge of 
the top and bottom rise where the bottom and top steps are to come. Fill this 
form and the space back of it with 1:2:4 concrete, starting with the bottom step, 
and continuing upward to the top, bringing the concrete in each step to the top 
of rise. Side forms for the 6-inch walls may now be placed, braced apart in the 
center properly, and resting on the back of the horses. These can be carried to any 
height desired to give the hatchway doors a proper slope for shedding rain and snow. 
Forms .will have to be built on the outside of these walls above the ground line 
to hold the concrete in place. Before the concrete sets in the side walls, bolts should 
be placed, with heads in the concrete, by means of which wooden sills are fixed to 
the walls for fastening the cellar doors by strap hinges. If the bottom step does 
not come to the wall line, the flat landing in the bottom should be covered with a 
5-inch thickness of concrete. Here is a convenient place to locate a drain, to carry 
off the water used in sluicing down the steps, and any which may leak through 
the cellar doors. 

The cellar hatchway shown in the photograph and in the drawing is 5 feet 
wide, built according to directions above. The side walls at the cellar are 7 feet 
high and 10 feet long. The slope for the cellar doors is 2 feet 4 inches. There are 
7 steps of 8-inch rise and 10-inch tread and a landing 3 feet 2 inches wide. Two 
men built this hatchway in 1% days. 

Materials Required. — Crushed rock or screened gravel, 2^ cubic yards at 
$1.10, $2.48; sand, iyi cubic yards at $1.00, $1.13; Portland cement, 3% barrels 
at $2.50, $9.37. Total, $12.98. 



91 




Root Cellars of Concrete 

The increasing use of roots, as winter feed for animals, has brought about the 
construction of root cellars as a means of preserving this valuable food. A root 
cellar must be sufficiently warm and dry to keep roots from freezing or rotting. 
By building the cellar below ground the warmth is greatly increased. To do 
this, however, a material must be employed which is moisture-proof and which 
will not rot. For these reasons use concrete. 

The cellar shown in the illustration on page 91 extends 5 feet below, and 2 
feet above ground level. The walls are 5 inches thick, and are made of concrete 
proportioned 1 : 2 : 4. 




>9/-'/?^ 



v///yy//////////// 



Choose a well drained site, and dig a pit in the earth to the desired depth and 
with an entrance-way so sloped as to make provision for concrete steps, which 
will have a rise of 7 inches and a tread of 10 inches. 



92 



Build a floor of the same thickness as the walls. Set inside box form and fill 
the space between this form and the earthen side walls with the wet concrete, the 
same as for Underground Cisterns, page 68. 

Above the ground level an outside form must be used. The roof is built in 
the way described on page 86 except the thickness is increased to 5 inches. 

Ventilators are provided in the roof, by imbedding lengths of sewer pipe in 
the concrete. Add galvanized tin hoods to keep out the rain. 

By referring to page 90, there will be found a description of how to build a 
hatchway and steps. 

Immediately after the side wall forms have been erected, the door frame 
should be set in its required position, before placing concrete. 

Similar structures are also used as bee, vegetable, fruit and cyclone cellars. 
Concrete cellars are great favorites with growers of apples, potatoes and cabbage. 
By adjusting the ventilator openings, the temperature can always be kept at just 
the right point. Moreover, since rats and mice cannot gain an entrance to a con- 
crete root cellar, there is no waste causing decay, and the vegetables keep 
better. 

In cold climates bees must be warmly housed in winter, lest they freeze to 
death. By no other means than underground cellars can they be safely brought 
through the winter. The bee cellar must be dry, in order that the bees stay in good 
health. In no way, can there be provided so even a temperature or so dry an at- 
mosphere, as by the use of concrete. Bees kept in concrete cellars come through 
the winter in perfect condition. 



Materials Required 

Crushed rock or screened gravel 11 cubic yards at $1.10 . . .$12.10 

Sand 5H cubic yards at $1.00 . . 5.50 

Portland cement 15 barrels at $2.50 35-oo 

$52.60 



:.y ••■ ■■•.:■ -■?.•:%•■ 




93 




Poultry Houses 



The high price of all foods has made poultry raising profitable. But to have 
laying hens they must be carefully tended. Their houses must be clean, and free 
from draughts. Young chickens must be protected from rats, skunks and foxes. 

Concrete houses fill every requirement of an ideal poultry house. To clean a 
house of concrete, spray it with oil and burn it out. Concrete is fireproof. Rats 




94 




cannot gnaw through a concrete floor or sidewalk. In a concrete house there are 
no cracks through which the snow can sift, or in which lice and bedbugs can hide. 

Locate the poultry house where there is plenty of sunlight and where the 
concrete poultry yard (see Feeding Floors, page 43) may be wind-protected. 
Build the house as directed under Small Buildings, page 82. As the walls are 
being placed, insert short pieces of gas pipe at convenient heights to support the 
shelves for the nests (one style of nest shown on page 94) and the rails for the 
roosts. If desired, a one-way-slope concrete roof may be made. 

Make the floor on an 8-inch fill of gravel, or of slabs built on a smooth floor 
and later set in place. Lay heavy wire fencing in the concrete slab 1 inch from 
the under side. 

Poultry Watering Troughs 

To rid the farm of cholera and roup, nothing aids more than concrete drinking 
troughs. Occasionally scrub the troughs, spray them with oil and burn them out. 

Duck Ponds 

Ducks need water, yet if they are allowed to go to a nearby stream, many are 
lost. Poultrymen are building ponds of concrete, attached to the water supply in 
such a way as to provide fresh water at all times. For building, see instructions 
under Hog Wallows, page 52. 




95 




Retaining Wall and Steps 

Terraces, if too steep, will not stay sodded, and if too flat, take up room which 
would otherwise be a part of the lawn. The neatest way is to place a retaining 
wall along the terrace edge. This wall is built in the same way as the wall to hold 

the earth in a barn approach de- 
scribed on page 60. 

If the wall is over one foot high 
steps are necessary. A most con- 
venient arrangement is to have the 
bottom step come flush with the face 
of the wall, making it impossible to 
fall over one or two projecting steps 
in the dark. 

In building, insert a stop plank 
between the front and back forms to 
prevent the concrete from going to 
the full height of the wall. The bot- 
tom of this plank should be kept at 
a height above the bottom of the 
wall sufficient to form the first step. 
After the concrete for the wall is placed, remove the section of the form where 
the steps are to come, and dig out the earth to a depth sufficient to hold them. 
The remaining steps are built in the manner described on page 90. 
After the concrete is placed, the steps should be closed to traffic for at least 
one week. 

In the background of the photograph on page 72 may be seen a double 
terrace wall of concrete, each wall 5 feet high. 




96 




W&^W^IM^m^m 



Concrete Chimney Caps 



As a large proportion of fires in residences originate in the chimney, it is well 
to have this part of the house as nearly fireproof as possible. It can be made 
entirely so by building it of concrete. If this is not convenient, at least let the 
chimney cap be of concrete. 

These caps are cast in one piece, on the ground, and in any shape desired. 

The outside form is a wooden box, with inside dimensions corresponding with 
the outside dimensions of the desired cap. Usually the cap is 6 inches thick, and has 
an "over-hang" or "drip" extending on all sides beyond the outside of the chimney.* 
Thus, if top of chimney, over all, is 
1 8 inches square, make outer form 
22 inches square, an extra allowance 
of 2 inches on all sides, thus ob- 
taining a cap that will have an "over- 
hang" of 2 inches all the way around. 

The inside form may consist of a 
piece of terra-cotta tile. If more 
than one opening is desired in the 
cap, use two pieces of tile or as many 
as there are to be openings. 

Mix concrete 1:2:4, the mixture 
to be a thoroughly wet one. Place in the form, after greasing outside of terra 
cotta so that same may be easily removed. Leave undisturbed for two days. Re- 
move forms and place cap in position, attaching it to the brick chimney with a 
cement mortar, one part cement to one part sand. 

* A simple method for building a chimney entirely of concrete is described on 
page 50. 




97 




Concrete Makes an Excellent Porch Floor 

Where even a part of a building is subjected to unusual wear, either from use 

or exposure to the elements, build 
it of concrete. 

Porch floors of wood rot quickly 
when laid near the ground; and, 
even if they do not rot, through 
constant use they become splintered 
and faulty. 

As concrete is a stone which 
can be made into any shape with- 
out cutting, it is particularly well 
adapted for porch floors of any size 
and shape. Its lasting qualities 




98 




under all conditions of wear and exposure have been so often mentioned, it 
seems useless to refer to them again. 

Remove the old wooden floor, first placing props to support the porch roof, 
with their lower ends resting outside the line of the porch floor. The pillars 
themselves must also be supported if they are not to be replaced by concrete. 

The floor is laid in exactly the same way as a feeding floor described on page 43. 
As the size is usually small, however, the floor can be laid in a single slab without 
joints. If a smooth surface is wished for, finish first with a wooden float and then 
with a steel trowel. 

Do not put too much elbow grease into the finishing. If you do, small cracks 
are likely to come on the surface and spoil the looks of the floor. 

No material could be more useful than concrete for the porch of a school 
house where hundreds of little feet scuff and stamp daily. 

A porch of concrete is free from vermin, fireproof, easily scrubbed, and needs 
no repairs. 

Hot-Beds and Cold-Frames 

Fresh vegetables may be had during the winter at small expense by every 
suburbanite, if he builds a hot-bed or cold-frame. By their use early spring plants 
can also be given a good start. Since the bed must be placed partly in the damp 
ground, the only material to be considered for this purpose is concrete, which 
does not rot out and which, being free from cracks and joints, makes the warmest 
bed in cold weather. 

Locate the bed on the sunny side of a building, if possible, on the south side. 
Dig the pit the width and length of the hot-bed, not less than 3 feet deep. The 
one shown is 39 feet long and divided into 3 equal compartments. Make box 
forms of 1 -inch lumber to carry the south (front) wall 6 inches and the north 
(back) wall 15 inches above ground. The end walls slope to the others. If the 



99 




bed is not near a building, extend the back wall 2 feet higher to serve as a wind- 
break. Before filling the forms with concrete, test their width by laying on a 
sash. See that it laps full 2 inches at each end. 

Mix the concrete mushy wet in proportions 1 : 2Y2 • 5- Fill the forms without 
stopping for anything. Tie the walls together at the corners by laying old iron 
rods in them bent at right angles. During the placing of the concrete set Yi~ 
inch bolts about 2 feet apart to hold the wooden framing to the concrete; or 
make grooves in the tops of the walls for sinking the frames level with the top 
of the concrete, allowing one-quarter inch at each end for clearance. This can 
be done by temporarily embedding in the soft concrete a wooden strip of the nec- 
essary width and thickness. Remove the forms after six days. Divisions may be 
built along with the walls or later as convenient. One and one-half days were 
required for two men to build a hot bed 5^ by 12)^ feet in the clear. 

Materials Required 

Screened gravel or broken stone 2^ cubic yards at $1.10. . . $2.75 

Sand 1 Y± cubic yards at $1 .00 . . . 1 .25 

Portland cement 3 3^2 barrels at $2.50 8.75 

$12.75 




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<6, 



100 




Tree Repair 

Nothing adds so much to the 
home-like appearance of a place as 
good shade trees. But trees are like 
teeth — they need attention. Boring 
insects often cause decay. The 
hollow becomes larger. The wind 
blows the weakened tree down. 
The "looks" of the place is ruined. 
It takes at least a lifetime to produce 
another such tree. 

By means of concrete, many 
famous old trees, seemingly about 
gone, are now saved. Open up the 
cavity with a hand-axe. With a 
mallet and chisel cut out every bit of 
the rotten wood, and stop the flow 
of sap by painting the cavity with 
liquid asphalt. Reinforce small cavi- 
ties with nails as shown in the photo- 
graph, larger cavities with rods, wire 
and spikes. Carefully fill every crev- 
ice with a I : 3 cement-sand mortar. 
By slightly trimming the edges of 
the bark around the filling, once or 
twice a season, the bark will grow 
entirely over the concrete. 





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101 




Rollers of Concrete 

Frost coming out of the ground in the spring raises the lawn into humps. 
If these are not rolled down at once, the lawn is rough all summer. 

Rollers were originally made by the farmer from logs of wood. These were 
abandoned for the more expensive iron rollers, purchased in the nearest town. 
Today farmers are again making rollers, but are using concrete. An iron roller 
with a cylinder from 2 to 3 feet in length will cost from $15 to $20, whereas 
one of the same size constructed of concrete will cost practically nothing. 

Obtain a length of sewer pipe, of the size of roller wished for. A tile from 12 
to 24 inches in diameter will usually suit the purpose. Set this tile on end, small 
end down, on a wooden platform. Through a hole bored in the platform insert a 
i-inch round iron bar, long enough to project beyond the ends of the roller a suffi- 
cient distance to provide bearings and attachment for the handles.' Care should 
be taken to get the bar exactly in the center of the tile before placing concrete, 
and to keep it there while the concrete is being placed. Make a wet mixture of con- 
crete (1 : 2 : 4), and fill the tile with this mixture, up to the "bell" of the tile. Allow 
the concrete to set for ten days, when the roller may be placed on side, and the bell 
of pipe chipped off with a cold chisel and hammer. Attach a forked handle, as 
shown in the illustration. As the axle is a firmly-fixed part of the roller, the fork 
ends of the handle must be provided with holes, within which the axle can turn. 

A roller 18 inches in diameter and 2 feet long will weigh about 600 pounds. 
If a lighter roller is desired, use a smaller sized sewer pipe; or place several 
small pipes inside the large one, depositing the concrete around them on the out- 
side. They will form hollow spaces inside the roller and lessen its weight. 

By increasing the size pipe, or by using a steel mold and attaching a pair 
of shafts or a tongue instead of a handle, horse rollers for crushing the clods in 
the ploughed fields may be made. 



102 




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Hay Caps and Tarpaulin Weights 

With the usual shortage of labor in the harvest season and the frequent 
occurrence of showers, to secure 
sweet, unmolded hay it has become 
necessary to cover the hay cocks 
with a canvas or muslin cover. 
The best weights to hold down the 
covers are made of concrete. Mix 
the concrete I part Portland cem- 
ent to 2 parts sand, mold them 
like doughnuts or as cakes with a 
galvanized wire loop, and set them 
aside in a damp place for 7 days 
before using. 

Trash Burner or 
Garbage Receiver 

Trash and leaves must be 
burned without danger to the sur- 
rounding property. A concrete 
burner affords the only safe and 
inexpensive means. 

Dig out the dirt to the depth 
of 6 inches. For forms choose two 
barrels, one of which will set within 
the other with a clearance on all 
sides of 6 inches. Adj ust the height 
by cutting off their butts. Make 
an opening through which a metal 
ash box can be inserted or over 

which an iron door can be hung. Fill the foundation hole and the forms with 
1:2:4 concrete. Remove the outside form after two weeks. The fire will later 
take care of the inner form. After three weeks the burner may be used. 




103 




Concrete Posts 

When a man buys a farm, he examines first the condition of its general improve- 
ments. If the fences are "all run down," he must take into consideration the cost 
of repairing or replacing them — a matter of no small importance and expense in 
these days of high priced labor and lumber. The cheapest fence is not always the 
one lowest in first cost. Intelligent purchase of fencing materials means buying 
those which last longest with least repairs. 

A railroad probably has more fencing along its right of way than any single 
property owner, and to avoid damage suits, the fences must at all times be in per- 
fect repair. As fast as their wooden fences rot out and burn down, they are 
replacing them with concrete. Not only has the lasting quality of concrete recom- 
mended itself, but the ever increasing shortage of the lumber supply has made the 
purchase of good wooden posts impossible, and the cost of poor posts high. 

Concrete posts in first cost are seldom more expensive than wooden posts. 
The life of a wooden post is from 3 to 5 years, while concrete posts last forever. 
Weather and fire do not injure them. Even forest fires cannot harm a line of 
concrete posts. 

The United States Government, recognizing the importance of this subject, 
has issued Farm Bulletin No. 403, entitled Concrete Fence Posts. This bulletin 
can be obtained free upon application to the Agricultural Department, or to your 
Congressman. 

Hitching posts, made in a slightly larger box form, with a bolt and ring inserted 
in the concrete before it has hardened, add neatness to the house surroundings. 
Gate posts of concrete, nothing more than heavy fence posts made long enough to 
take the highest fence, prevent sagging gates, so hard to open. A concrete clothes 
post is ready for the clothes line and the wash every Monday morning. The weight 
of the wet clothes does not break them down or cause them to sag. Clothes 
never have to be rewashed due to dragging in the dirt. 



104 













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Corner Stones and Survey Monuments 

To property owners, as well as engineers, survey monuments which last forever 
and can be easily distinguished from surrounding rocks, are of the utmost importance. 
Expensive re-surveys and legal fights can be avoided by making such monuments 
easily distinguishable, perma- 
nent, and in such a way as to 
avoid confusion with other 
marks. The use of concrete 
for this purpose fills all the re- 
quirements better than any 
other material. 

Get from the proper pub- 
lic official (usually the county 
engineer or surveyor) the ex- 
act location of corner stones. 
Drive four stakes in the 
ground so that strings 
stretched between every other 
stake will cross each other di- 
rectly over the original monu- 
ment. 

Remove the old monu- 
ment, and, with a post auger, 
bore a hole deep enough to 
reach below the frost line (at 
least 3 feet deep), where the 
old monument stood. 




105 



Fill the hole with concrete mixed I 12:4, rounding the top with the hands so 
it will extend 3 or 4 inches above the level of the surrounding ground. 

While placing the last foot of concrete, imbed a harrow tooth, iron bolt, or 
gas pipe, with its top just showing above the finished concrete at a point directly 
under where the strings cross. Protect the monument from damage by stock 
for one week, by placing a box over it. 



Drain Tile Outlet Walls 

In developing the lowlands for farm purposes — and such lands are now most 
valuable — immense sums are being invested in concrete drain tile. 

Where drain tile empty into an open ditch, the banks of the ditch around the 
drain tile gradually wash away, and often two and three lengths of tile become 
disjointed, allowing the water from them to further cut away the field land. These 
exposed tile are often crushed by livestock. Moreover, clay and shale tile freeze, 
crumble, and mixed with the earth from the bank frequently close the outlet. 
Muskrats, skunks and mink use the tile as a nesting place, and the drain becomes 
stopped up and drowns out the crops. 

All of this trouble is prevented by a small outlay of time and money in building 
a concrete retaining wall to keep the end of the drain tile from washing out and to 
protect it. 

Choose the dry season of the year, immediately after the laying or cleaning of 
the string of tile, when little water is in the ditch. 

Dig a trench 12 inches wide along the edge of the open ditch 2 feet below its 
bottom and under the end of the line of tile. This trench should extend along 
the bank for from 4 to 6 feet, with wings turned into the bank at its ends, 
sufficiently long to prevent water from getting in behind the wall and washing 
the dirt out. 

Mix concrete 1 : 2^/2 : 5 — wet enough to tamp well. 

Fill the trench with concrete up to the ground 
level. Should the trench be full of water, place this 
part of the concrete dry. 

Set box forms, made of i-inch siding and 2 by 4- 
inch studding. These forms must be high enough to 
bring the wall up to the level of the top of the ditch 
banks. At the proper height to meet the string of tile, 
place a first-class drain tile (at least one size larger 
than the regular string) through the forms so that the 
front end will be flush with the outside wall after con- 
crete is placed. 

Bore two small holes in the forms above this tile, 
and place in them well greased pegs of wood. After the forms are filled with 
concrete, these pegs are removed, the holes receiving the bolts holding a flap gate 
to keep animals out of the line of tile. Fill the forms with concrete, and smooth 
off the top of wall with a steel trowel. 

Remove the forms after one week, and fill in earth behind the wall to its top. 



106 




Spraying Tanks 



San Jose scale and insects are everywhere making fruit growers spray their 
orchards. To get rid of the continual nuisance of leaks and the handling of warm 
solutions, orchardmen are building elevated concrete tanks and are heating the 
spraying solution with steam pipes on the tank bottoms. With such a plant, there 
is no delay — and time counts in the spraying season. 

The tank shown stands on 10 by 12-inch columns, 6 feet clear of the ground. 
It has two compartments, each 5 by 5 feet by 4 feet deep holding 750 gallons. 
The side walls are 4 inches thick. Beneath the 4-inch bottom, on all sides, are 
8 by 12-inch concrete beams. 

Locate the tank convenient to the water supply. Dig the column holes 12 
inches square, 3 feet deep, 1 1 feet out to out on the longer side and 5 feet on the 
shorter. Have all forms ready before placing any concrete. Fill the holes with 
concrete and imbed in each hole four 3^-inch iron rods 10 feet long so that they 
will come right for the columns and extend through them. Set up the 10 by 12- 
inch by 6-foot column forms with their tops level with each other. Join them 
together with the solidly framed 8 by 12-inch beam forms. 

Keeping the rods 1 inch from the corners, fill concrete in the column forms 
up to the floor beams. Spread 1 inch of concrete over the bottom of the beam 
forms and lay in two 3^-inch rods ij^ inches from each side wall. Bend these 
rods around those in the columns. Without delay fill the beam forms. 

Erect the forms for the tank proper as for Watering Tanks, page 74. In 
the bottom of each tank set a i^-inch flange pipe coupling. Place 1 inch of con- 
crete, then strips of heavy woven wire, and the remaining 3 inches of concrete. 
Fill the side walls and, 1 inch from the outside, imbed similar wire fencing. Protect 
the green concrete according to directions under watering tanks. 

The materials required are: screened gravel or crushed rock, 4^ cubic yards; 
sand, 2% cubic yards; and Portland cement, 7^ barrels. 



107 




Culverts are Permanent When Made of Concrete 

The secret of good roads is good drainage. Standing water soaks into the 
road bed, softens the road surface and causes ruts. To keep well made roads in 
first-class condition, get the water to the highway drain tile as fast as it falls. 
This can be accomplished only by means of culverts. 

The perfect culvert is one which does not rot or rust out, which does not crush 
down and clog up the opening, which lasts forever. Concrete is the only material 
which fills the bill. 

The best time to build a culvert is in the dry months of summer. They can 
be shaped either round or square and of a size depending on the amount of water 
which must be removed quickly. Usually openings 12 to 18 inches are large 
enough. Set the culvert as deep in the road bed as possible, but do not place the 
outlet end lower than the bottom of the ditch into which the culvert drains. To 
keep the culvert well beneath the road bed, if necessary, make the side ditch 
deeper at the inlet end. Determine the grade line of the finished culvert bottom. 
Only a little slope is needed. Dig the trench 6 inches deeper than the grade 
line and as wide and long as necessary. The width of the trench depends upon 
the size of the culvert to be built, and its length upon the width of roadway 
under which the water is to be carried. The concrete walls are each 6 inches 
thick, so the width of the trench will be 1 foot greater than the clear width of the 
culvert. Fill this trench with concrete mixed 1 : 2Y2 : 5, and, while it is still wet 
place in the center of it a U-shaped box, turned upside down, of i-inch boards, the 
outside of which is the size of the culvert desired. Fill concrete into the space 
between the sides of the box and the sides of the trench and tamp concrete over the 
top to a depth of 8 inches. Road culverts should not be less than 18 inches 
below the surface of the roadway. 

To prevent the material of which the road is made from washing down into 



108 




the culvert, small wing or retaining walls must be built at each end. To do this 
dig an 8-inch trench 3 feet deep, at each end of the culvert along the end of the 
culvert barrel. Frame a form, the width and height necessary, against the end 
of the box or pipe. Make another form, of the same size, but U-shaped, with 
the opening just large enough to fit over the outside of the concrete culvert barrel. 
Set this form 8 inches inside the first. Plumb both forms and brace them securely. 
Nail boards across the ends of these two forms and fill them with concrete. For 
one week shut off the traffic from passing over the culvert. Allow the forms to 
remain in place for two weeks. Replace the road material over the culvert and 
keep the ruts carefully filled until the fill has become solid. Since there are usually 
many culverts to be built, it is cheaper to use a collapsible form, adjustable to 
several sized culverts. 

The box culvert shown in the illustration on page 108 has an opening 18 inches 
wide and 16 inches deep. The length is 20 feet. The retaining walls are 8 inches 
thick, 2 feet high (from the barrel opening), and do not extend beyond the culvert 
walls. The bottom and the side walls are 6 inches thick; the top, 8 inches. Three 
men, with a highway commissioner as superintendent, built this culvert in two 
days. 



Materials Required 

Crushed rock or screened gravel 3 cubic yards at $1.10 . . 

Sand 1 V2 cubic yards at $1.00 . 

Portland cement 4 barrels at $2.50 



$3.30 

1.50 

10.00 



$14.80 



Concrete bridges last forever. With all the bridges and culverts of concrete, 
tax officials will no longer need to levy bridge taxes. 



109 




Septic Tanks 



The proper method for the disposal of house sewage is an important question 
on the farm. Cess-pools, simply pits dug in the ground, are great disease spreaders. 
The liquids from them seep through the ground, carry germs from the pool to the 
well, render "the best drinking-water in the country " unfit for use, and often cause 
the spread of disease. 

The modern farmer no longer puts up with such barbaric practice. Cess-pools 
have long been prohibited in cities, where immense sums of money are spent for 
the proper disposal of sewage. It is not possible to provide farms with these ex- 
pensive plants, nor is it necessary. Through the use of an inexpensive septic tank 
all of the conveniences of the toilet and bath may be installed in the house and the 
danger from sewage removed. 

Septic tanks are nothing but long underground, water-tight cisterns through 
which the sewage passes very slowly and evenly. Located underground, they are 
warm and dark — ideal conditions for the development of the bacteria, little germs 



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110 




which eat up the sewage and render it harmless in much the same way as another 
kind causes cider to ferment. To prevent the bacteria (which live in the frothy 
sludge) from being disturbed cross-walls, called baffle boards, are placed to break 
up the current of the inflowing sewage. The purified sewage, merely clear water, 
may be discharged into the farm drain tile. 

Locate the septic tank where it can be placed entirely with the side walls 
underground and out of danger of flood waters. For a family of 8 to 10, plan a 
tank with 8-inch walls, 5 feet wide, 5 feet deep and 10 feet long — all dimensions in 
the clear. Lay out the tank and construct it in exactly the same manner as Under- 
ground Cisterns, page 68. 

Before filling the forms, set in the 6-inch inlet and outlet drains at the same 
height, 2 feet 6 inches below the ground level. To aid further in breaking up the 
currents and keeping out too much air, use elbow bends, so that the sewage in the 
tank will cover the mouths of the tile. In the side forms, at a distance of 2 and 4 
feet from the inlet wall, set ^-inch bolts to which the baffle boards will later be 
attached. These boards reach entirely across the tank, project above the sewage, 
and extend to within 1 foot of the bottom. While building the manhole covers, 
for the needed ventilation, insert in them four short lengths of i-inch gas pipe. 

Remove the forms the same as for underground cisterns. 




Concrete Hydrant Sink 



111 




Window Hatches 

Window hatches should be protected by a flap cover, to close in times of 
heavy rain or snow. 




An Outdoor Swimming Pool 

These are built exactly as an underground cistern. A pool near home affords 
a safe "swimming hole" for the children. 



112 



Universal Portland Cement 



Write Us for Help 

TI7'£ have recently published many books of 
V V instructions about Concrete on the Farm. 
These contain simple but accurate instructions for 
the building of various kinds of structures in the 
country. It has been the intention to make them 
so complete that any farmer may build of concrete 
without paying for skilled labor. 

We realize that many difficulties sometimes 
arise and will be glad to have you write us, explain- 
ing your troubles. We will answer, giving you the 
benefit of our expert advice, entirely free of cost to 
you. If you want help on any subject, do not 
hesitate to write us at once. 



Universal Portland Cement Co. 

Chicago Pittsburg Minneapolis 

115 Adams Street Frick Building Security Bank Building 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

r 

020 187 549 3 



Universal Portland Cement 




Every Farmer in Buying Portland Cement 

should remember that all Portland cement is not the same. 
When you go to your dealer, ask for Universal Portland Cement 
and make sure that the above trade mark is printed in 
blue on each sack. 

Good concrete depends on good workmanship and good 
materials. You may make sure of the workmanship if you 
follow instructions. Good sand and gravel are obtainable 
quite cheaply most everywhere. With these you may feel 
absolutely safe, if you use Universal Portland Cement. It is of 
the best quality possible to make; always uniform, of good 
color, great strength, and works easily. 



It is for sale by dealers in nearly every 
town, large or small. If your dealer does 
not have it, write to our nearest office. 



Universal Portland Cement Co. 

i 

Chicago Pittsburg Minneapolis 

115 Adams Street Frick Building Security Bank Building 



